IRELAND'S REQUEST 

TO THE GOVERNMENT OF THE 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

FOR RECOGNITION AS A SOVEREIGN 

INDEPENDENT STATE 




Price Fifty Cents 



ISSUED AT THE OFFICE OF THE 

IRISH DIPLOMATIC MISSION 

1045 MUNSEY BUILDING 

WASHINGTON, D. C. 






IRELAND'S REQUEST 



TO THE GOVERNMENT OF THE 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 



FOR RECOGNITION AS 



A SOVEREIGN INDEPENDENT STATE 



To His Excellency 

The President of the United States. 

Mr. President: 

I have the honor on behalf of the people and Government of 
Ireland to request from the United States Government the recog- 
nition of the Republic of Ireland. In support of that request, I 
beg to submit the following facts and considerations.* 

When the people of a nation have proved beyond question 
their desire for an independent government of their own by the 
civilized as well as decisive test of the ballot; when they have, 
with scrupulous regard to propriety in method taken all the 
measures necessary to establish such a government; and when, 
having estabhshed it, they have, through voluntary acceptance 
of that government's decrees and obedience to them, succeeded 
in making it the de facto ruling authority of their country, func- 
tioning in every department of civil administration — no State 
which denies them recognition can maintain at the same time 
that it upholds the principle of " government by the consent of 
the governed." Particularly is this true at this moment of 
history when the greatest war of all time has just been fought 
to estabhsh as moral and political principles of universal appHca- 
tion the rights of nations great and small, to life, liberty, and the 
pursuit of happiness,- and, 

"the privilege of men everywhere to choose their way of life 
and obedience." 

The people of Ireland are a people and the government of 
the Repubhc of Ireland is a government exactly such as described. 
Hence, as it is not to be beheved that the United States would 
abandon the principle of "government by the consent of the 
governed," which has always been a fundamental guiding prin- 
ciple of its national policy, reiterated with special emphasis dur- 
ing the war by you. Sir, as the necessary basis of any peace 
which the United States would feel itself justified in guarantee- 
ing, the people of Ireland and their government are confident 
that their claim to recognition will not be refused or ignored by 
the Government of the United States. 

Summarized, the fundamental facts on which Ireland's 
claim is based are: 

* The documents, lists of election returns, opinions of jurists, correspondence and other 
forms of testimony, to which reference is made in the course of this communication, will 
be found in an Appendix, to which has been prefixed a descriptive table of contents. 

[3] 



1. That the people of Ireland constitute a distinct and separate 
nation, ethnically, historically, and tested by every standard of political 
science; entitled therefore, to self-determination; 

2. That Ireland never voluntarily accepted British domination and 
that that domination has been consistently challenged through the 
centuries ; 

3. That the people of Ireland in a general and regular parlia- 
mentary election, in effect a national plebiscite, held under British 
supervision (thus eliminating completely any question of illegitimate 
influences in favor of the Republic) declared unmistakably by an over- 
whelming majority, their desire to be an Independent Republic — 
which is, therefore, and ought to be accepted by other nations as Ire- 
land's definite choice by self-determination; 

4. That the people's representatives elected for the purpose and 
summoned to meet in a National Congress (Dail Eireann) duly met in 
public session in the nation's capital at Dublin, formally proclaimed 
Ireland's independence as a Republic, and notified its establishment 
as a Republic to all the nations of the world ; 

5. That the National Congress thus assembled elected and set up a 
government, which government is, on democratic principles, the de 
jure, and has ever since been functioning in fact as the obeyed, de facto 
government of Ireland, entitled, therefore, to international recognition 
as the rightful and actual government of Ireland; 

6. That the rival (British) authority in Ireland is an alien usurping 
authority, commanding neither the respect nor the obedience of the 
people of Ireland, unable even to maintain discipline among its own 
forces — ignored and "non-existent" save within the immediate shadow 
of the fortresses of the Array of Occupation, without a title, therefore, 
either in morality or in fact to recognition as the government of Ireland, 
unless, as President Cleveland expressed it, "the will of the military 
officer in temporary command of a particular district can be dignified 
as a species of government." 

7. That the standards heretofore announced in principle and ap- 
proved in practice by the United States, entitle Ireland to recognition 
from the United States. 

In the face of indisputable facts such as these the right of 
self-determination would be but a "mere phrase" indeed were 
the Republican Government of Ireland now to be denied recog- 
nition. 

IRELAND A NATION 

The people of Ireland undoubtedly constitute a nation — one 
of the oldest and most clearly defined in Europe. Their nation 
is not a nation merely — in the sense of modern political science 
it was a sovereign independent state for over a thousand years 
knowing no external master but moulding its own institutions to 
its own life in accordance with its own will. 

The original Norman came as an invader and an aggressor, 
and down through the long seven centuries and one-half during 
which his successors have sought to secure their domination in 

[4] 



Ireland the Irish have consistently challenged theii* authority 
and have resisted it with a courage and a perseverance for which 
there is no parallel in history. Neither Czecho-Slovakia nor 
Jugo-Slavia, nor Finland nor Armenia nor Poland itself, nor any of 
the other newly estabhshed states of Europe, whose independence 
is now rightly recognized, even approach the perfection of nation- 
hood manifested by Ireland nor can their claim compare with 
Ireland's on other grounds. These nations, for instance, had no 
elected or organized government of their own to point to as Ire- 
land has, ready to discharge the duties of a responsible govern- 
ment, not only, but actually discharging the most essential of 
them. 

IRELAND'S TITLE TO SELF-DETERMINATION ON 
THE RASIS OF AMERICAN PRINCIPLES 

The entry of the United States into the late war raised 
that struggle once for all from the slough of contending 
imperiahsms to the level of a crusade for "the inviolable rights 
of peoples and mankind." 

Long before the United States had declared war, you, Sir, 
had well expressed it, May 27, 1916, as the "passionate con- 
viction of America" that 

"* * * the principle of public right must henceforth take preced- 
ence over the individual interests of particular nations. 
" * * * every people has a right to choose the sovereignty under 
which they shall live. 

"* * * the world has a right to be free from every disturbance of 
its peace that- has its origin in aggression and disregard of the rights 
of peoples and nations," 

and as the war approached, you confirmed these views in a 

famous address to the Senate: 

"* * * ]\Jq peace can last or ought to last which does not recognize 
and accept the principle that governments derive all their just powers 
from the consent of the governed * * * ." 

taking it for granted that statesmen everywhere were agreed that 

"* * * henceforth inviolable security of life, of worship, of indus- 
trial and social development should be guaranteed to all peoples who 
have lived hitherto under the power of governments devoted to a faith 
and purpose hostile to their own," 

and proposing that 

"* * * no nation should seek to extend its polity over any other 
nation or people but that every people should be left free to determine 
its own polity, its own way of development unhindered, unthreatened, 
unafraid, the little along with the great and powerful," 

[5] 



concluding 

"These are American principles, American policies. We could stand 
for no others. * * * They are the principles of mankind and must 
prevail." 

These principles were the fundamental ones in the program 
with which you, Sir, went before the Nation. They are embodied 
as a plank in the platform of the Democratic Party, adopted in 
St. Louis in 1916, and were emphatically endorsed by the Ameri- 
can people at the elections. 

"We believe that every people has the right to choose the sover- 
eignty under which it shall live; that the small states of the world have 
a right to enjoy from other nations the same respect for their sover- 
eignty and for their territorial integrity that great and powerful nations 
expect and insist upon ; and that the world has a right to be free from 
every disturbance of its peace that has its origin in aggression or dis- 
regard of the rights of peoples and nations. At the earliest practical 
opportunity our country should strive earnestly * * * ^j^g^^ ^jj 
men shall enjoy equality of right and freedom * * * in the lands 
wherein they dwell." 

The responsible spokesman of the American people had in 
these words made clear to the masses everywhere that their 
thought was also his thought, and they knew that America's 
President, proclaiming such principles and with the will to 
realize them, backed by America's might, could achieve the 
common ideal, could, in the conditions prevaihng, really reform 
the world and reconstruct it on a basis of justice, bringing to 
wai'-weary and harassed humanity the secure and lasting peace 
for which it yearned. 

The British Imperialists themselves had not dared to oppose. 
Mr. Bonar Law, speaking for the British War Cabinet had said, 
when this Address was published : 

"What President Wilson is longing for we are fighting for." 

The people of Ireland in particular welcomed your lofty 
program in the universal adoption of which they saw the con- 
summation of all their nation had struggled for through seven 
centuries and one-half of ceaseless endeavor ; and when America 
entered the war 

"* * * to fight thus for the ultimate peace of the world and for the 
liberation of its peoples * * * for the rights of nations great and 
small and the privilege of men everywhere to choose their way of life 
and obedience * * * for democracy * * * for a universal 
dominion of right by such a concert of free peoples as shall bring peace 
and safety to all nations and make the world itself at last free," 

[6J 



—America 

"privileged to spend her blood and her might for the principles that 
gave her birth and happiness and the peace which she has treasured," 

they confidently believed that a new day had dawned for them 
in common with all the other oppressed peoples of Nations that 

"have called out to the world generation after generation for justice, 
liberation, and succor, and no cabinet in the world has heard them," 

and that 

"have waited for this day when the friends of liberty should come across 
the sea to shake hands with us to see that the new world was con- 
structed upon a new basis and foundation of justice and right." 

Such a world as this was the world they had ever been hoping 
for, and America's might and her unselfish record joined with 
her pledged word, was the assurance that their hopes would at 
last be fulfilled. 

On Easter Monday, April 24, 1916, a year before America 
entered the war, a small band of Irish patriots went forth to 
give to British rule in Ireland the challenge in arms that had 
been given in practically every preceding generation, — to assert 
once more their country's right to liberty, and to proclaim her 
an independent Republic. 

Ill-equipped comparatively and hopelessly outnumbered, 
their effort could be a protest only, but the independence they 
proclaimed they knew to be Ireland's right and they knew it 
accorded with the aspirations of the Irish people. 

To convince the world that might not believe, when America 
entered the war for the "ultimate peace of the world" and "for 
the rights of the nations great and small," Irish Republicans or- 
ganized themselves as a political party to be ready should occa- 
sion offer to secure the indisputable evidence of the people's vote 
as the basis of Ireland's claim in any world-settlement on Ameri- 
can ideals. 

The war progressed, and to the very close, there was no 
indication of any change of viewpoint on your part concerning 
the necessity of universal acceptance of the principle of self- 
determination if a lasting peace were to be secured. It was evi- 
dent from yoiu- addresses that you were prepared to contemplate 
even 

"a somewhat radical reconsideration of many of the rules of interna- 
tional practice hitherto thought to be established," 

[7] 



where these might be necessary for your program, that you faced 
the fact that the price of such a peace as you wished for would 
necessarily be 

"full, impartial justice— justice done at every point and to every nation 

* * * our enemies as well as our friends." 

"Impartial justice in every item of the settlement no matter whose 

interest is crossed * * *," 

"The impartial justice meted out must involve no discrimination 

between those to whom we wish to be just and those to whom we do 

not wish to be just * * * g^ justice that plays no favorites." 

a price which all who came to the peace table must be prepared 
to pay. 

Ireland was seeking nothing but justice; so when the General 
Parhamentary Elections were announced for December 14, 1918, 
the Sinn Fein or Reptibhcan Party put the establishment of the 
Repubhc a direct issue to the Electors. 

The result was that of the one hundred and one (101) popularly 
elected representatives the Republicans secured seventy-two (72) ; 

The so-called Parliamentary Party (who were self-determination- 
ists and did not oppose the idea of a Republic as such, but deemed it 
at the moment unattainable) secured six (6) ; 

The official Unionists twenty-one (21); and the Independent 
Unionists, two (2). 

The Repubhcan representatives therefore won in a majority 
of practically two and one-half to one (23^2 to 1) over all other 
parties, whilst the self-determinationists (Republicans and Parlia- 
mentarians taken together) secured a majority of nearly three 
and one-half to one (33/^ to 1) over those in favor of union with 
England. 

In terms of the total popular vote, 311,210 votes only were 
cast for union with England out of a total of 1,519,898; that is, a 
bare twenty per cent (20%). 

The people of Ireland were asked what they wanted — their 
answer, given as above, was unmistakable and has not been 
questioned either by the minorities in Ireland or by the Rritish 
Premier himself (Appendk) . 

Absolute unanimity in pohtics is, of course, out of question. 
The degree of unanimity attained in this general plebiscite of the 
people of Ireland was extraordinary — far higher than that re- 
quired in the conservative Senate of the United States even for 
its most conservative act, the ratification of treaties with foreign 
powers. 

To pretend that absolute unanimity must be obtained, or to 
refuse to accept as final in determining the will of the nation such 

[8] 



a majority as that in Ireland, is to cut at the foundation, not 
merely of the principle of self-determination, but at the founda- 
tion of democracy itself, for democracy, in the last analysis, 
stands on the principle of majority rule. 

Since the general parliamentary election of December 1918, 
two general local-government elections have been held, the 
municipal elections held in JanuarN^ and the rural elections in 
June 1920, these also in accordance with British law and under 
British supervision, and on a system of proportional represen- 
tation admittedly passed in the British Parhament for Ireland 
only, in the hope that by giving minorities everywhere the fullest 
representation the Republican strength would be weakened. 

The results of these elections were even more decisive than 
those of the parliamentary election and prove that the Repub- 
lican victory of 1918 was no chance victory. They prove, in 
fact, that sentiment in favor of the Republic has steadily ad- 
vanced in the intervening period. Every man over twenty-one 
and every woman over thirty had a vote and minorities every- 
where were able to secure, as already explained, representation in 
proportion to their strength — yet so unanimous is sentiment in 
favor of the Republic and its GoA^ernment that 

Of twelve (12) cities and boroughs in Ireland, eleven (11) had majorities 
in favor of the Republic; and of one hundred and sixteen (116) town- 
ships ninety-two (92) favored the Republic. Thus, over 80.5 per cent 
of the City and Urban Councils give allegiance to the Republic, support 
Dail Eireann, and carry its decrees into effect. 

Of the two hundred and six (206) Rural District Councils, one hundred 
and seventy-two (172) are definitely Republican (83.5 per cent) and 
only nineteen (19) definitely in favor of England. 

And of the three thousand, four hundred and twenty-seven (3,427) 
representatives elected to these Councils, two thousand, seven hundred 
and eighty-two (2,782) (81.2 per cent) are definitely in favor of the 
Republic and only three hundred and eighty-six (386) (11.3 per cent) 
against it. 

Of the one hundred and fifty-four (154) Boeu-ds of Guardians, one 
hundred and thirty-seven (137) are definitely in favor of the Repub- 
lic (89.0 per cent), and only fifteen (15) against it, (9.7 per cent.) 

Of the thirty-three (33) County Councils, twenty-nine (29) are loyal 
to the Republic, and of a total of six hundred and ninety-nine (699) 
representatives elected to these Councils, six hundred and twelve (612), 
(87.6 per cent) are definitely in favor of the Republic, whilst only 
eighty-seven (87) are against it. 

[9] 



ENGLAND'S PLEAS 

Britain claims national self-determination was not intended 
to apply to nations like Ireland, because Ireland had been for a 
long time in the British pohtical system — but Czecho-Slovakia 
had long been in the political system of Austria, and Poland in 
the political systems of Germany, Austria, and Russia. Self- 
determination was obviously not meant for the free nations wlio 
already had it, but principally for such nations as Ireland "' held in 
forced bondage by powerful imperial neighbors." England's hold 
on Ireland in the past has been maintained by force alone, and by 
force is maintained whatever hold she has on Ireland today — 
by machine guns, aeroplanes, tanks, bayonets — not by the con- 
sent of the people. 

England claims that the estabhshment of Ireland as an 
independent nation would be an act of "secession." Secession 
presupposes a previous voluntarily contracted union — there has 
been no such contract between Ireland and England. As shown 
in (Appendix) the methods by which the so-called "United 
Kingdom" was created, and the Act of "Union" passed were, as 
Gladstone puts it, "so foul and vile" that it has "no moral title 
to existence whatever." That union was simply, to use Lloyd 
George's own term, "the union of the grapphng hook" or as Lord 
Byron puts it, the "union of the shark with its prey,'' The sepa- 
ration of Poland or Finland from its conquerors is not considered 
an act of secession. 

Another form of the above pretence is that the Irish ques- 
tion is a domestic question for Britain — one for her alone to 
settle. The struggle of the American Colonies to obtain their 
freedom from England m 1776 was similarly claimed to be a 
' ' domestic question. ' ' But even before the Continental Congress 
sent Frankhn, Adams, Dean, Lee and Dana to visit the courts of 
Europe to seek recognition, the American Revolution had ceased 
to be a "domestic question." Every foreign tyrant that has 
ever sought to be allowed to do as he wills with a subject people 
has claimed that the determination of his relations with them 
was purely a domestic question for himself. If the argument 
that Britain seeks to have apphed to Ireland were accepted 
in the case of other countries, then Greece and other nations 
of the Near East would still be struggling with the Sultan, and 
the countries of Latin America still be subject to Spain. 
That Ireland is not in any real sense a domestic question for 
England has already been recognized by the people of America, 
by the Legislatures of many of its States, and by the House of 
Representatives and the Senate. 

[10] 



The "domestic" or "internal question" argument is a con- 
venient cloak for expediency. Witness the case of Poland. In 
1916 France, England and Russia in a secret treaty declared 
Poland to be a matter of Russian internal politics and they agreed 
to hand over the whole of Poland to the Czar. Yet Poland has 
since been admitted by these same powers to constitute an inter- 
national question. 

On this "domestic question" argument the Enghsh Joint 
Commission on the Problems of the International Settlement, 
an association of Enghsh publicists, in a Memorandum pub- 
Hshed in 1918, says: 

"In the past the Irish 'question' has been regarded as a domestic 
one, concerning only the British Commonwealth — the war has changed 
this and it is now a question of international importance. Its impor- 
tance lies not only in the fact that a settlement is publicly demanded by 
America, Russia and Germany, but in that its solution is increasingly 
regarded by the world at large as a test of the sincerity of the principles 
to which Great Britain stands pledged in this war." 

Closely related to the previous pretexts is the plea that 
Ireland's independence would menace England's security. By 
security here is of course really meant self-interest, commercial 
supremacy, the privilege of regulating in England's interests 
Ireland's internal economic life and Ireland's trade with the 
rest of the world. 

It would indeed be a peculiar doctrine, striking at the root of 
all freedom, to assert that a nation loses its security by having in- 
dependent neighbors. Were England's plea admitted, then no 
small nation would have a right to freedom, for some neigh- 
boring Empire would certainly claim it as necessary to its 
"security." It was on a plea such as this that Germany claimed 
to enter and to hold Belgium. By it, England could equally 
well claim the control of the channel ports in France. England 
has far less reason to fear a free Ireland — an isolated island — 
than she has to fear a free Belgium or a free France with an 
indefinite hinterland of resources. Ireland is not necessary 
to England's safety, and it is not for her national safety, nor for 
her legitimate security that England is fearful. 

Ireland is quite ready by treaty to insure England's safety 
and legitimate security against the danger of foreign powers 
seeking to use Ireland as a basis of attack against her. 

England's danger is not in a free but in an oppressed and 
subject Ireland. As a subject nation Ireland must hate her 
oppressor, and exert every effort to encompass her freedom from 
bondage. The Irish people's hatred for England would cease 

[11] 



with the removal of the cause, and an independent Irish nation 
might well find common interests with Britain. 

Final peace between the two nations can come with Ireland's 
independence and with that only. England can bring it about 
in an hour by withdrawing her army of occupation from Ireland. 
She will be surrendering no right in doing so. The Irish cannot 
be expected to sacrifice the rights of nationhood, and the struggle 
through the centuries has proved that they will not. 

A further plea is the assertion that the question of Ireland's 
independence is a religious one. That pretence can deceive only 
those who are unacquainted with the real facts of the Irish politi- 
cal situation. The Irish question is fundamentally and entirely 
a poHtical struggle between Ireland and Britain — between Irish 
nationality and British imperiahsm. That it is not a religious 
struggle can be seen from the fact that Cathohc Ireland fought 
Cathohc England centuries before Martin Luther nailed up his 
theses. Protestant Ireland fought Protestant England. Some of 
the bitterest opponents of Irish freedom today are Cathohc Eng- 
hshmen. Irish Protestants and Irish Cathohcs alike have suf- 
fered death for Irish hberty. The struggle for the Repubhc was 
initiated by Protestants, and in the past centur>^ and a half the 
foremost Irish leaders have been Protestants— Wolfe Tone, 
Russell, McCracken, Orr, Lord Edward FitzGerald, Robert 
Emmet, John Mitchel, Thomas Davis, Smith O'Brien, down to 
Butt and Parnell. It is obvious that if the Irish cause had been 
a rehgious cause the majority would not have chosen their 
leaders from the creed they were supposed to be opposing. Tliis 
alone disproves the pretense that the Irish struggle against 
England is founded in a rivalry of religious beliefs. 

The so-called "Ulster" question is discussed in an Ap- 
pendix. It is shown that the minority in Ireland is but a 
pohtical minority sustained by England to weaken Ireland's 
strength and that England may point to a minority in favor of 
union with herself. The guiding principle of her poHcy is made 
manifest in a state-paper sent by Westmoreland to Pitt.* 

There was never a nation yet seeking its freedom that did 
not have a minority at least against it. Washington had to 
contend with the "tories" and "loyalists" of his day, and they 
were far more numerous relatively than the Imperialists in Ire- 
land today. The minorities in Czecho-Slovakia and Jugo-Slavia 
are much larger than those in Ireland. The only thing excep- 
tional in the Irish situation is that over the greater part of the 
country there is this strange phenomenon— almost complete 

♦"History of Ireland in the Eighteenth Century." A'ol. Ill, by Rt. Hon. W. E. H. 
Lecky. 

[12] 



political unanimity. What makes Ulster loom up at all, apart 
from the use made of it by British propagandists, is the con- 
trast that in the northeast corner of that Province there is 
not the strange and exceptional but the usual condition — to be 
found in most countries — well marked differences of political 
opinion. A free Ireland will have no difficulty in solving its 
minority problem. It can solve it much more easily, in fact, 
than most countries have been able to solve similar problems. 

The English Joint Commission, already referred to, have 
stated their view: 

"If the people of Great Britain were definitely to express through 
the Government their wiUingness to agree to the application of self- 
determination without any qualification except that suggested in the 
General Principles of the series (of Memoranda), viz., that due regard 
be paid to the general interests and welfare of the world as a whole— 
we are convinced a representative body of Irishmen called together for 
the purpose will very speedily devise minority safeguards which will 
be accepted by the opinion of both England and the world at large as 
fair and just." 

THE FUNCTIONING OF THE REPUBLICAN 
GOVERNMENT 

Having received their mandate from the Irish people, the 
elected representatives met in Congress (Dail Eireann) and 
formally proclaimed Ireland's independence — notified all the 
nations, and set up a national executive which inmiediately 
proceeded to function. 

The Government of the Repubhc of Ireland is conducted 
under the central administration of a Cabinet consisting of 
the President^ and Ministers of State for Home and for Foreign 
Affairs, for National Defence, for Finance, for Local Govern- 
ment, for Industries, for Labor, for Agriculture, and for Educa- 
tion, with supplemental directors of Trade and Commerce, of 
Fisheries, of Forestry, and of Information. Each of these 
departments is now actively functioning, and has been so 
functioning without interruption since April, 1919. 

The Minister for Foreign Affairs is prosecuting Ireland's 
claim for recognition as a sovereign and independent state 
through a number of diplomatic missions to foreign peoples and 
governments. 

The Minister of Defence has organised a disciplined army 
of Volunteers, which is being equipped. 

The Minister of Finance has floated a considerable loan, 
both domestic and foreign, for the general purposes of the 

[131 



government, in particular for the economic development of 
the country. The confidence reposed in the Republican Gov- 
ernment by the people of Ireland is evidenced by the fact that 
the domestic loan was over-subscribed by one-half. 

The Minister of Local Government co-ordinates the work 
of the municipal and rural councils, and controls through these 
democratically elected bodies, the administration of all the local 
affairs of the nation. 

The Minister of Industries and the Director of Trade and 
Commerce have caused a survey of Ireland's economic resources 
to be made, with a view to their proper utihzation, along co- 
operative lines, for the benefit of the nation ; and are developing 
closer trade relations with foreign countries through the con- 
sular service. 

The Ministry of Labor is particularly concerned with the 
advancement of schemes for the proper housing of the workers, 
the question of unemployment, and the arbitrament of industrial 
'disputes. 

The Minister of Agricultiu-e has organized a Land Bank to 
ifmance the agricultural industry of the country. Through the 
:agency of this Bank several large grass ranches have been divided 
into economic holdings and allotted to farmers and laborers 
co-operatively organised. The Ministry actively aided the 
Director of Forestry in instituting an Arbor Day movement 
for the planting of waste lands throughout the country. 

The Minister for Home Affairs has organized a national 
judiciary — civil and criminal courts — the only courts, except 
the British courts-martial, now functioning in Ireland; and a 
police force. The rulings of the Land Courts on the intricate 
questions, arising out of the land problem, have brought about 
a cessation of the land unrest endemic in certain parts of Ireland 
in recent years. 

The Department of Education is promoting a general scheme 
of national education, and has taken over, and now directly 
controls certain technical and other educational institutions. 

The Fisheries Department is attending to the special needs 
of the fishing industry. A chain of co-operative societies has 
been formed amongst deep-sea fishermen, and the Department 
is aiding these societies financially to secure motor-driven 
boats, and essential equipment. Its inspectors see that the 
necessary technical knowledge is made available for those em- 
ployed in the curing and marketing of the fish. 

The other Departments similarly promote the national 
interests directly in their charge, working in close association 
with all interested in their respective spheres. 

[14] 



The functioning of the Repubhcan government is seen in its 
legislative acts and in the obedience rendered to them. Both the 
Enghsh Government, through Dublin Castle and the Irish 
Republican Legislature are issuing laws and decrees. But the 
laws and regulations of Dublin Castle are purely repressive and 
destructive and are principally honored in the breach, whereas 
the laws of the Irish legislature are constructive and are observed. 
One hundred and fifty thousand soldiers cannot enforce Enghsh 
laws upon an unwilhng population, whereas the force of public 
opinion has served to obtain a nearly full measure of obedience 
for Ireland's own laws. 

The administration of justice and the maintenance of civil 
order is another test of actual government. That Irish courts 
administer justice to the practical exclusion of the English courts 
is now a matter of universal knowledge. The following extract 
from the account of the Manchester Guardian's special corre- 
spondent, published in the Weekly Edition of July 9, 1920, p. 32,. 
bears testimony to this fact: 

. "Of all the activities of Sinn Fein none has come more closely 
before the public in recent months than the work of the Republican 
courts in administering justice and keeping civil order * * *. 

"One is able to give from authoritative sources some account of 
the machinery of these courts, which are suppressing the ordinary 
official courts over a great part of Ireland, and are attracting to 
them Unionist landlords, solicitors and barristers. They are held 
in 26 counties, but are to be found working most completely and 
effectively in the west. In Galway city, for instance, a sort of 
petty sessional court meets openly every night. In Cork courts are 
held openly in the city hall. A Sinn Fein land tribunal met in the 
County Council offices in Dublin a week ago. In most places they are 
, held more or less surreptitiously, but their publicity is growing. The 
falling off in business in all the southern and western circuits has 
become notorious, and it is due almost entirely to the competition of 
the Sinn Fein courts and the fact that now they alone can claim popular 
consent and have the ability to enforce decrees." 

When the Lord Mayor of Cork — now dead in Brixton jail — 
was arrested, he was presiding at a Court of the Republic adjud- 
icating in a case in which an English Insurance Company was 
the plaintiff. 

Thus the Government of the Repubhc is functioning and 
claims recognition not only because it is the legitimate and right- 
ful government of the Irish people — the only government with 
the democratic sanction of the consent of the governed, but also 
because it is also the actual government in Ireland. The rival 
British Government in Ireland has been declared, even by Lord 
Grey, to be almost "non-existent." Referring to the "helpless- 
ness" of the British authority in Ireland, he said recently that 
British authority "has apparently ceased." 

[15] 



IRELAND'S CLAIM TO RECOGNITION IS 
A MORAL RIGHT 

Ireland, as already set forth, can show indisputable proof of 
the will of its people. Ireland can show a responsible, fully 
organized and functioning government, the only government 
securing the obedience of the people and hence the only de facto 
government in Ireland. Relying then, upon the established 
policy of the United States since the days of Jefferson, she con- 
siders herself entitled to recognition. 

"How," wrote Jefferson, "can we consistently refuse to recognize 
people who ask to establish our form of government.^" 

"It accords with our principles to acknowledge any government 
to be rightful, which is founded by the will of the nation substantially 
declared." 

"We certainly cannot deny to other nations that principle whereon 
our own Government is founded. "^ — (Jefferson's Works, VI, 131.) 

With respect to the recognition of Greece, Secretary of State 
Livingston, addressing the envoys of Great Britain, France and 
Russia, said, April 30, 1833: 

"The President of the United States has directed me to inform you 
that it has been the principle and the invariable practice of the United 
States to recognize that as the legal government of another nation, 
which, by its establishment in the actual exercise of political power 
might be supposed to have received the express or imphed assent of the 
people." — (Moore, Digest of International Law, I, p. 112.) 

President Grant, in his Annual Message of Dec. 7, 1875, 
said, with respect to Cuba: 

"Where a considerable body of people, who have attempted to 
free themselves of the control of the superior government, have reached 
such a point in occupation of territory, in power, and in general organi- 
zation as to constitute in fact a body poHtic; having a government in 
substance as well as in name, possessed of the elements of stability, 
and equipped with the machinery for the administration of internal 
pohcy and the execution of its laws, prepared and able to administer 
justice at home as well as in its dealings with other powers; it is within 
the province of those other powers to recognize its existence as a new 
and independent nation. In such cases other nations simply deal with 
an actually existing condition of things, and recognize as one of the 
powers of the earth that body politic which, possessing the necessary 
elements, has, in fact, become a new power." — (Moore, op. cit., I, 107). 

And President McKinley, in liis Special Message of April 
11, 1898, added: 

"When it shall appear hereafter that there is within the island 
a government capable of performing the duties and discharging the 
functions of a separate nation, and having as a matter of fact, the proper 
forms and attributes of nationahty, such government can be promptly 
and readily recognized." — (Moore, op. cit. I, 110). 

[16] 



Secretary of State Webster, in replying on December 21, 
1850, to the Austrian protest against the recognition of Hungary, 
declared : 

"It is not to be required of neutral powers that they should await 
the recognition of the new government by the parent state. No 
principle of public law has been so frequently acted upon within the 
last thirty years by the great powers of the world as this." 

From these precedents, a few among many, it is apparent 
that the United States has a clear diplomatic tradition in the 
poKcy of recognition of new states when they have established 
their independence de facto, notwithstanding the inevitable pro- 
tests of the "parent" states. 

Nor is the feeble control exercised in isolated places by the 
British army of occupation any bar to the recognition of Ireland. 
Viscount Grey has called attention to the "helplessness" of this 
"feeble government" of the British military forces. On 
September 3, 1918, the United States Government, tlirough 
Secretary Lansing, recognized the Czecho-Slovak National 
Council in Paris as the "de facto" Government of the indepen- 
dent Czecho-Slovak State, although the entire Czecho-Slovak 
territory was occupied by the armies of Austria-Hungary. No 
national election had at that time manifested the national will 
for independence. Under somewhat similar circumstances, the 
independence of Poland, Finland, Jugo-Slavia and Armenia 
has been recognized. 

But even if Secretary Seward's policy of legitimacy were 
to be adopted, Ireland would still be entitled to recognition by 
the United States. For unless the Government of the United 
States is prepared to deny that sovereignty resides in the people, 
the people of Ireland have through the ballot reinforced by law 
the claim of sovereignty resting on de facto authority. 

Inasmuch as the governments of Czecho-Slovakia, Finland, 
Poland, Jugo-Slavia, Armenia, Esthonia, Latvia and others were 
accorded recognition, on what moral basis can recognition be 
refused to the duly elected government of the RepubHc of Ire- 
land.^ As already pointed out, in the former countries, there 
was not even definite proof that the people wanted to be separated 
from the controlhng Empu-es — their governments when recog- 
nized were in many cases purely provisional and nominal, were 
neither elected by the people, nor functioning nor in a position to 
function. 

Refusal of recognition to Ireland must imply therefore that 
the principles which were accepted as of universal appHcation 
during the war are now specially restricted to favor the interests 

[17] 



of England or to discriminate unjustly against Ireland — a dis- 
crimination which the repeated professions of statesmen during 
the war make immoral and impossible. 

The statesmen of Britain were as insistent on the rights of 
small nations to rule themselves as was America's President 
himself. Before the war, the Alhed Nations reply to a note of 
your government was: 

"The Allied Nations are confident that they are fighting, not for 
selfish interests, but above all to safeguard the independence of peoples, 
right and humanity * * *." 

Their war aims necessarily imply 

"the re-organization of Europe, guaranteed by a stable regime, and 
based at once on respect for nationalities and liberty of economic 
development possessed by all peoples, small and great." 

On America's declaring war, Mr. Bonar Law said: 

"America's aims and ideals are those of the AlUes." 

And the British Cabinet sent this message to America: 

"* * * They (the British people) also believe that the unity 
and peace of mankind can only rest upon democracy; upon the right 
of those who submit to authority to have a voice in their own govern- 
ment; upon the rights and liberties of nations, both great and small, 
and upon the universal dominion of pubHc right." 

And when you, sir, at Washington's tomb, July 4, 1918, 
demanded 

"The settlement of every question, whether of territory, of sover- 
eignty, of economic arrangement, or of political relationship, upon the 
basis of the free acceptance of that settlement by the people im- 
mediately concerned, and not upon the basis of the material interest or 
advantage of any other nation or people which may desire a different 
settlement for the sake of its own exterior influence or mastery. * * * 
What we seek is the reign of law based upon the consent of the governed, 
and sustained by the organized opinion of mankind," 

Mr. Lloyd George, the next day, addressing the American troops 
in France said : 

"President Wilson yesterday made it clear what we are fighting for." 

These declarations constitute a complete estoppel upon any 
protest from England against the recognition of Ireland's inde- 
pendence. 

We appeal to the principles upon which the war was fought 
not merely because they were the terms of the implied contract 
on which millions offered up their lives and because to repudiate 

[18] 



them would be to break faith with these milhons; but because 
these principles are permanent truths as precious and vital to 
mankind today as when they were first enunciated and when, 
during the war, they were so consciously apprehended and 
valued as to be considered well worth securing at the price of a 
nation's blood and a nation's treasure. 

The bearing of these principles on the peace and progress 
of humanity lay then and hes now in their universaHty — that 
was and is their essence and to refuse to accept this universality- 
is to render them valueless and to make vain all the sacrifices 
made to establish them. To reject Ireland's claim is to fail in 
the acid test. 

It is surely unnecessary to urge these considerations on the 
head of the American nation who was the interpreter of these 
ideals for us all. 

Ireland then asks no more than this: — a recognition that to 
her apply these principles to which the British Premier appealed 
when he said, speaking of Russia: 

"Supposing you * * * re-organized Russia, what manner of 
government would you set up there? 

"You must set up a Government which the people want; other- 
wise it would be an outrage on all the principles for which we fought 
in the war." 

and of Poland: 

"Poland has chosen her own Government by universal suffrage, 
and it is intolerable that any country from outside should come in 
and impose upon her a government which she does not want." 

Even Britain itself cannot fail to understand, nor can she 
complain should there manifest itself in other nations the spirit 
glorified by her own spokesman, Lloyd George, in the appeal 

"When he saw an organized and insolent bully trampling on the 
weak, he felt he was pursuing his ideals in his endeavor to combat that 
oppression." 

England can point to no title to Ireland except the titles of 
aggression and usurpation. British authority in Ireland rests 
and has always rested on force alone. The admission of force 
as a title of right is a relic of barbarism. It was clearly seen to 
be such during the war. In an enlightened age the conscience of 
mankind revolts against it, and it ought now to be impossible. 

Every appeal during the recent war had its point peculiarly 
in this — the rejection of the right of might. Millions were led 
to fight and die asserting the principle that the people of no 
nation might be forced by duress of arms under a sovereignty 

[19] 



under which they did not desire to hve. That principle was 
accepted as universally appHcable, and as the necessary founda- 
tion for a lasting peace. 

The responsible statesmen of all the AlHed and Associated 
Powers exphcitly and definitely proclaimed it. It is the guiding 
principle on which rests the will of your government and people 
to participate in the war in defense of liberty. It has actually 
been applied to bring the freedom which they sought to Poland, 
to Czecho-Slovakia, Jugo-Slavia, and to a number of other 
oppressed peoples. How can it be denied to Ireland .^^ 

Every plea of England's statesmen that is not founded on a 
falsehood has its basis in the doctrine that might is right and 
the latter can be met and completely answered by the questions 
in which you, Sir, succinctly embodied the issues of the war: 

"Shall the military power of any nation or group of nations be 
suflFered to determine the fortunes of peoples over whom they have no 
right to rule except the right of force? 

"Shall strong nations be free to wrong weak nations and make 
them subject to their purpose and interest.!^ 

"Shall peoples be ruled and dominated, even in their own internal 
affairs, by arbitrary and irresponsible force or by their own will and 
choice? 

"Shall there be a common standard of right and privilege for all 
peoples and nations or shall the strong do as they will and the weak 
suffer without redress?" 

To repudiate the evidence of the ballot, the most civilized 
method of declaring the national will, and to demand that, as a 
condition of recognition, the bullet be more effectiA^ely used, is 
to introduce into international relations an inhuman principle 
of immorahty. Ireland's claim today, measured by all the moral 
and legal standards the United States has estabhshed since its 
infancy and measured by the moral principles upon which the 
greatest war in history was fought, is as strong as any additional 
bloodshed can make it. Further bloodshed would not more 
decisively prove the national will of the people of Ireland, but 
a refusal of recognition now would invite it. 

Nor in requesting executive recognition at this time, do 
we ask you, Mr. President, to move far in advance of your 
people. Both branches of Congress have made manifest their 
will by recognizing that the case of Ireland was a proper one 
to be heai'd at the Peace Conference, and by expressing their 
sympathy with the Irish people's effort to establish a govern- 
ment of their own choice. We now ask you, in your capacity 
as spokesman and chief executive of the American people, to 
take executive notice of this action of Congress "as the Council 

[20] 



associated with (you) in the final determination of (America's) 
international obligations." Ireland's right to independence has 
been already admitted, by implication, in the decision to exempt 
her nationals in the United States from the appHcation of the 
British- American mihtary service convention of March, 1918. 
Ireland merely asks that the imphed recognition be now made 
expUcit. 

I have the honor, Mr. President, to avail myself of this 
opportunity to express the assurances of my profound considera- 
tion and esteem. 



President of the Republic of Ireland. 



October 27, 1920. 



[2i] 



APPENDIX 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

I. War Aims: 

(a) President Wilson's Statements; 

(b) Professions of British Statesmen ; 

(c) French Statesmen's Declarations; 

(d) Britain's Recruiting Pledge to Ireland ; 

(e) American Principles Reasserted in U. S. Note to Ital; 

(f) Both Houses of Congress Recognize Ireland. 

II. Ireland a Nation. 

III. (a) British Renunciation Act, 1783. 

(b) So-called "United Kingdom" and Act of "Union." 

IV. Ireland's Exercise of the Right of Self-Determination: 

(a) Parliamentary Election Returns; 

(b) Municipal and Urban Election Returns; 

(c) County Councils Election Returns; 

(d) Rural District Councils Election Returns. 

V. The "Ulster" Question. 

VI. English Ruthlessness in Ireland: 

(a) Twentieth Century; 

(b) A Century of Coercion ; 

(c) In Past Centuries. 

VII. The Commercial Ruin of Ireland. 

VIII. Continental Congress Address to People of Ireland. 

[25] 



[I] (a) 

WAR AIMS 

s 
PRESIDENT WILSON'S STATEMENTS ' 

(Before America's entry into the War) 

"No man, or group of men, chose these to be the issues of the struggle. They are the 
issues of it; and they must be settled — by no arrangement or compromise or adjustment of 
interests, but definitely and once for all and with a full and unequivocal acceptance of iheprin- 
ciple that the interest of the weakest is as sacred as the interest of the strongest."— President 
Wilson— September 27, 1918. 

April 20, 1915. (Address to Associated Press in New York.) 

"* * * We are trustees for what I venture to say is the greatest 
heritage that any nation ever had, the love of justice and righteousness 
and human liberty. For, fundamentally, those are the things to which 
America is addicted and to which she is devoted. * * * .". 

February 26, 1916. (Address to Gridiron Club, Washington.) 

"* * * The point in national affairs * * never lies along the lines 
of expediency. It always rests in the field of principle. The United 
States was not founded upon any principle of expediency; it was 
founded upon a profound principle of human liberty and of humanity,, 
and whenever it bases its policy upon any other foundations than 
those it builds on the sand and not upon the soHd rock * * *." 

"* * * this single thing upon which her character and history 
are founded, her sense of humanity and justice. If she sacrifices that, 
she has ceased to be America; she has ceased to entertain and to love 
the traditions which have made us proud to be Americans; and when 
we go about seeking safety at the expense of humanity, then I, for one, 
will believe that I have always been mistaken in what I have conceived 
to be the spirit of American history * * * ." 

"* * * whenever an impulse to settle a thing some short way 
tempts us, we might close the door and take down some old stories of 
what American idealists and statesmen did in the past, and not let any 
counsel in that does not sound in the authentic voice of American 
tradition * * * ." 

May 27, 1916. (Address to the League to Enforce Peace, at Washington.) 

"* * * The principle of pubhc right must henceforth take preced- 
ence over the individual interests of particular nations. * * * ." 

"* * * theremustbeacommonagreement for a common object 
and at the heart of that common object must lie the inviolable rights of 
peoples and of mankind * * * We beheve these fundamental things: 

"First, that every people has a right to choose the sovereignty 
under which they shall live * * *. 

"Second, that the small states of the world have a right to enjoy 
the same respect for their sovereignty and for their territorial integrity 
that great and powerful nations expect and insist upon, 

[26] 



"And third, that the world has a right to be free from every distur- 
bance of its peace that has its origin in aggression and disregard of the 
rights of peoples and nations."* 

October 26, 1916. (Address at Cincinnati). 

"* * * America is going to take this position, that she will 
lend her moral influence, not only, but her physical force, if other 
nations will join her, to see to it that no nation and no group of nations 
tries to take advantage of another nation or group of nations, and that 
the only thing ever fought for is the common rights of humanity 
* *, * America was established in order to indicate, at any rate in 
one Government, the fundamental rights of man. America must here- 
after be ready as a member of the family of nations to exert her whole 
force, moral and physical, to the assertion of those rights throughout 
the round globe." 

December 18, 1916. (Dispatch in reply to German Proposition of Peace). 

"* * * Their (the people and the Government of the U. S.) 
interest, moreover, in the means to be adopted to relieve the smaller 
and weaker peoples of the world of the peril of wrong and violence 
is as quick and ardent as that of any other people or government. 
They stand ready and even eager to cooperate in the accomplishment 
of these ends, when the war is over, with every influence and resource 
at their command." 

January 22, 1917. (Address to Senate on Conditions of Peace). 

Speaking, "as the responsible head of a great Government," of 
America's participation in the guarantees of the peace to end the war: 

♦»* * * 'pjjg treaties and agreements which bring it to an end 
must embody terms that will create a peace that is worth guaranteeing 
and preserving, a peace that will win the approval of mankind, not 
merely a peace that will serve the several interests and immediate 
aims of the nations engaged * * *. 

"* * * There is only one sort of peace that the peoples of 
America could join in guaranteeing. The elements of that peace must 
be elements that engage the confidence and satisfy the principles of 
the American Government, elements consistent with the political faith 
and the practical convictions which the peoples of America have once 
for all embraced and undertaken to defend. 

'■* * * Only a tranquil Europe can be a stable Europe. 

*Note: This declaration of President Wilson, on May 27, 1916, was made a plank 
in the Democratic Party platform at the National Convention assembled in St. 
Louis in 1916. At the ensuing Elections the Party ticket was triumphant; thus, the prin- 
ciples here stated received the sanction of the people of America. 
The platform declaration was as follows: 

"We believe that every people has the right to choose the sovereignty under which 
it shall live; that the small states of the world have a right to enjoy from other nations 
the same respect for their sovereignty and for their territorial integrity that great and 
powerful nations expect and insist upon; and that the world has a right to be free from 
every disturbance of its peace that has its origin in aggression or dLsregard of the rights 
of peoples and nations. At the earliest practical opportunity our country should strive 
earnestly * * * that all men shall enjoy equality of right and freedom * * * 
in the lands wherein they dwell." 

[27] 



"* * * The equality of nations upon which peace must be 
founded, if it is to last, must be an equality of rights; the guarantees 
exchanged must neither recognize nor imply a difference between big 
nations and small ; between those that are powerful and those that are 
weak. Right must be based upon the common strength, not upon the 
individual strength, of the nations upon whose concert peace will 
depend * * *. 

"* * * No peace can last, or ought to last, which does not 
recognize and accept the principle that Governments derive all their 
just powers from the consent of the governed, and that no right any- 
where exists to hand peoples about from sovereignty to sovereignty as 
if they were property. * * * 

"* * * and that henceforth inviolable security of life, of wor- 
ship, and of industrial and social development should be guaranteed 
to all peoples who have lived hitherto under the power of governments 
devoted to a faith and purpose hostile to their own. 

"* * * ^jjy peace which does not recognize and accept this 
principle will inevitably be upset. It will not rest upon the affections 
or the convictions of mankind. The ferment of spirit of whole popu- 
lations will fight subtly and constantly against it, and all the world 
will sympathize. The world can be at peace only if its life is stable, 
and there can be no stability where the will is in rebelhon, where there 
is not tranquillity of spirit and a sense of justice, of freedom, and of 
right. * * * 

"* * * jvJq doubt a somewhat radical re-consideration of many 
of the rules of international practice hitherto thought to be established 
may be necessaiy in order to make the sea indeed free and common in 
practically all circumstances for the use of mankind, but the motive for 
such changes is convincing and compelhng. * * * 

"* * * I would fain believe that I am speaking for the silent 
mass of mankind everywhere who have as yet had no place or oppor- 
tunity to speak their real hearts out concerning the death and ruin they 
see to have come already upon the persons and the homes they hold 
most dear. * * * 

"* * * I am proposing as it were that the nations should with 
one accord adopt the doctrine of President Monroe as the doctrine of 
the world: that no nation should seek to extend its polity over any 
other nation or people, but that every people should be left free to 
determine its own polity, its own way of development, unhindered, 
unthreatened, unafraid, the little along with the great and powerful. 
* * * 

"* * * J g^jj^ proposing government by the consent of the 
governed. * * * 

"* * * These are American principles, American policies. We 
could stand for no others. And they are also the principles and policies 
of forward-looking men and women everywhere, of every modern nation, 
of every enlightened community. They are the principles of mankind 
and must prevail."* 



*NoTE : Two days after President Wilson's address to the Senate, Mr. Bonar Law said : 
'What President Wilson is longing for, we are fighting for." 

[28] 



March 5, 1917. (Second Inaugural Address.) 

"* * * ^g have still been clear that we wished nothing for 
ourselves that we were not ready to demand for all mankind — fair 
deahng, justice, the freedom to live and be at ease against organized 
wrong. * * * 

"* * * Y^Q haye always professed unselfish purpose and we 
covet the opportunity to prove that our professions are sincere. * * * 

"* * * These, therefore, are the things we shall stand for. 
* * * That the essential principle of peace is the equality of 
nations in all matters of right or privilege. * * * That govern- 
ments derive all their just powers from the consent of the governed 
and that no other powers should be supported by the common thought, 
purpose, or power of the family of nations * * *." 



PRESIDENT WILSON'S STATEMENTS 

(During the War) 

April 2, 1917. (Address to Congress). 

"* * * ^g 3j.p glg^ jjQ^ ^jj^^ y^Q ggg lY^Q facts with no veil of 
false pretense about them, to fight thus for the ultimate peace of the 
world and for the liberation of its peoples, the German peoples in- 
cluded: for the rights of nations great and small and the privilege of 
men everywhere to choose their way of life and of obedience. The 
world must be made safe for democracy. * * * We are but one of 
the champions of the rights of mankind. We shall be satisfied when 
these rights have been made as secure as the faith and the freedom of 
nations can make them. * * * 

"* * =1= g^|■ ^]^g rjgi^t is more precious than peace, and we shall 
fight for the things we have always carried nearest our hearts — for 
democracy, for the right of those who submit to authority to have a 
voice in their own governments, for the rights and liberties of small 
nations, for the universal dominion of right by such a concert of free 
peoples as shall bring peace and safety to all nations and make the world 
itself at last free. 

"To such a task we can dedicate our lives and fortunes and every- 
thing that we are and everything that we have, with the pride of those 
who know that the day has come when America is privileged to spend 
her blood and her might for the principles that gave her birth and hap- 
piness and the peace that she has treasured. God helping her, she can 
do no other."* 

May 22, 1917. (Letter to Representative Heflin). 

"* * * 'j^jjg wijole of the conception which I take to be the 
conception of our fellow countrymen with regard to the outcome of 
the war and the terms of its settlement I set forth with the utmost 
explicitness in an Address to the Senate of the United States on the 
22nd January last. * * * ." 

*Note: a few days later, Mr. Bonar Law said in the House of Commons: ''America's 
aims and ideals are those of the Allies.'" 

[29] 



May 26, 1917. (Cablegram to Russia). 

"* * * gjjg (America) is fighting for no advantage or selfish 
object of her own, but for the liberation of peoples everywhere from the 
aggressions of autocratic force * * *, 

"We are fighting for the liberty, the self-government and the 
undictated development of all peoples, and every feature of the settle- 
ment that concludes this war must be conceived and executed for that 
purpose. Wrongs must first be righted and then adequate safeguards 
must be created to prevent their being committed again. We ought not 
to consider remedies merely because they have a pleasing and sonorous 
sound. Practical questions can be settled only by practical means. 
Phrases will not accomplish the result. Ejffective readjustments will, 
and whatever readjustments are necessary must be made. 

"But they must follow a principle and that principle is plain. No 
people must be forced under a sovereignty under which it does not wish 
to live. * * * 

" * * * For these things we can afford to pour out blood and 
treasure * * *" 

July 14, 1917. (Cablegram to French Government). 

"* * * our peoples today stand shoulder to shoulder in defence 
of liberty in testimony of the steadfast purpose of our two countries to 
achieve victory for the sublime cause of the rights of the people against 
oppression. The lesson of the Bastile is not lost to the world of free 
peoples." 

August 27, 1917. (Reply to the Pope). 

"* * * 'pjjg American people believe that peace should rest 
upon the rights of peoples, not the rights of governments — the rights of 
peoples great or small, weak or powerful — their equal right to security 
and freedom and self-government." 

December 4, 1917. (Address to Congress). 

"* * * y^Q shall be wiUing and glad to pay the full price for 
peace, and pay it ungrudgingly. We know what that price will be. It 
will be full impartial justice — ^justice done at every point and to every 
nation that the final settlement must affect, our enemies as well as our 
friends. * * *." 

January 8, 1918. (Address to Congress). 

"* * * y^Q have spoken now surely in terms too concrete to 
admit of any further doubt or question. An evident principle runs 
through the whole program I have outlined. It is the principle of 
justice to all nationahties and peoples, and their right to five on equal 
terms of liberty and safety with one another, whether they be strong 
or weak. Unless this principle be made its foundation no part of the 
structure of international justice can stand. The people of the United 
States could act upon no other principle; and to the vindication of this 
principle they are ready to devote their lives, their honor, and every- 
thing that they possess. * * * " 

[30] 



February 11, 1918. (Address to Congress). 

"* * * National aspirations must be respected; peoples may 
now be dominated and governed only by their own consent. 'Self- 
determination' is not a mere phrase. It is an imperative principle of 
action, which statesmen will henceforth ignore at their peril. * * * 

"* * * This war had its roots in the disregard of the rights of 
small nations and of nationalities which lacked the union and the 
force to make good their claim to determine their own allegiances and 
their own forms of political life. * * * 

"* * * Unless these problems are dealt with in a spirit of un- 
selfish and unbiased justice, with a view to the wishes, the natural 
connections, the racial aspirations, the security and peace of mind of 
the peoples involved, no permanent peace will have been attained 
* * * all well-defined national aspirations shall be accorded the 
utmost satisfaction that can be accorded them * * *." 

July 4, 1918. (Address at Mt. Vernon). 

"* * * The settlement of every question, whether of territory 
of sovereignty, of economic arrangement, or of political relationship, 
upon the basis of the free acceptance of that settlement by the people 
immediately concerned, and not upon the basis of the material interest 
or advantage of any other nation or people which may desire a different 
settlement for the sake of its own exterior influence or mastery. * * * 

"* * * Xhese great objects can be put into a single sentence: 
What we seek is the reign of law, based upon the consent of the governed 
and sustained by the organized opinion of mankind * * *."* 

September 1, 1918. (Public Message to Labor). 

"It is a war to make the nations and the peoples of the world 

secure against every such Power as the German autocracy represents. 

* * * 

"Germany was striking at what freemen everywhere desired and 
must have — the right to determine their own fortune, to insist upon 
justice. * * * 

"* * * jjjg world cannot be safe * * * so long as Govern- 
ments, like that which, after long premeditation, drew Austria and 
Germany into this war, are permitted to control the destinies and the 
daily fortunes of men and nations, plotting while honest men work, 
laying the fires of which innocent men, women and children are to be 
the fuel. * * * The soldiers * * * are crusaders * * * 
They are giving their lives that homes everywhere as well as the homes 
they love in America may be kept sacred and safe and men everywhere 
be free as they insist upon being free * * *." 

September 27, 1918. (Address to Public Meeting in New York). 

"* * * Those issues (war issues) are: 

1. Shall the military power of any nation or group of nations 
be suffered to determine the fortunes of peoples over whom they 
have no right to rule except the right of force? 

*Note: Premier Lloyd George the following day, addressing the American troops in 
France, said: "President Wilson yesterday made it clear what we are fighting for." 

[31] 



2. Shall strong nations be free to wrong weak nations and 
make them subject to their purpose and interest? 

3. Shall peoples be ruled and dominated, even in their own 
internal affairs, by arbitrary and irresponsible force or by their 
own will and choice? 

4. Shall there be a common standard of right and privilege 
for all peoples and nations or shall the strong do as they will and 
the weak suffer without redress? * * * 

"* * * It is of capital importance that we should also be 
explicitly agreed that no peace shall be obtained by any kind of com- 
promise or abatement of the principles we have avowed as the principles 
for which we are fighting. * * * 

"* * * ij^Yie price (of peace) is impartial justice in every item 
of the settlement, no matter whose interest is crossed. * * * 

"* * * These then are some of the particulars, and I state them 
with the greater confidence because I can state them authoritatively 
as representing this Government's interpretation of its own duty with 
regard to peace: 

"First, the impartial justice meted out must involve no dis- 
crimination between those to whom we wish to be just and those to 
whom we do not wish to be just. It must be a justice that plays no 
favorites and knows no standard but the equal rights of the several 
peoples concerned; 

"Second, no special or separate interest of any single nation or any 
group of nations can be made the basis of any part of the settlement 
which is not consistent with the common interest of all." 



EXTRACTS FROM NOTES BETWEEN GERMANY AND 

PRESIDENT WILSON PRECEDING 

THE ARMISTICE 

Germany to America, October 6, 1918: 

"* * * It (the German Government) accepts the programme set 
forth by the President of the United States in his message to Congress 
of January 8, 1918, and in his later pronouncements, especially his 
speech of September 27, as a basis for peace negotiations. * * *," 

President Wilson's Reply to Germany, October 8, 1918: 

"* * * Does the Imperial Chancellor mean that the Imperial 
German Government accepts the terms laid down by the President 
in his address to the Congress of the United States on January 8th 
last and in subsequent addresses, and that its object in entering into 
discussions would be only to agree upon the practical details of their 
application? ******." 

Ciermany to President Wilson, October 12, 1918: 

"* * * The German Government has accepted the terms laid 
down by President Wilson in his address of January 8 and in his sub- 
sequent Address on the foundation of a permanent peace of justice. 
Consequently its object in entering into discussions would be only to 
agree upon practical details of the application of these terms. 

[32] 



"The German (lovernment believes that the Governments of the 
Powers associated with the Government of the United States also 
adopt the position taken by President Wilson in his Address. * * *." 

President Wilson's Reply to Germany, October 14, 1918: 

"* * * The unquaHfied acceptance by the present German Gov- 
ernment and by a large majority of the German Reichstag of the terms 
laid down by the President of the United States of America in his 
addresses to the Congress of the United States on January 8, 1918, and 
in his subsequent addresses justifies the President in making a frank 
and direct statement of his decision in regard to the communications 
of the German Government of the 8th and 12th October, 1918. * * *. 

"* * * It is necessary, also, in order that there may be no possi- 
bility of misunderstanding, that the President should very solemnly 
call the attention of the Government of Germany to the language and 
plain intent of one of the terms of peace which the German Govern- 
ment has now accepted. It is contained in the Address of the President 
delivered at Mount Vernon on July 4th last. It is as follows: — 

'■'* * * The destruction of every arbitrary power anywhere that 
can separately, secretely, and of its single choice disturb the peace of 
the world; or, if it cannot be presently destroyed, at least its reduction 
to virtual impotency. * * *.' " 

President Wilson's reply to Germany, October 22, 1918: 

"Having received the solemn and explicit assurance of the German 
Government that it unreservedly accepts the terms of peace laid down 
in his address to Congress of the United States on January 8, 1918, 
and the principles of settlement enunciated in his subsequent addresses, 
particularly the address of September 27th. and that it desires to discuss 
the details of their application, * * * the President of the United 
States feels that he cannot decline to take up * * * the question of 
an armistice." 

Germany to President Wilson, October 23, 1918: 

"* * * The German Government now awaits proposals for an 
armistice which shall be a first step towards a just peace, as the Presi- 
dent has described it in his proclamation." 

PRESIDENT WILSONS STATEMENTS 

(After the Armistice) 

February 24, 1919. (Address at Roston). 

Speaking of his reception on the other side of the Atlantic: 

"* * * it was * * * the cry that comes from men who 
say we have waited for this day when the friends of liberty should come 
across the sea and shake hands with us to see that the new world was 
constructed upon a new basis and foundation of justice and right. 

"The proudest thing I have to report to you is that this great 
country of ours is trusted throughout the world. * * * Every interest 
seeks out first of all when it reaches Paris the representatives of the 
United States * * * because there is no nation in Europe that 
suspects the motives of the United States. 

[33] 



"They resort to that nation which has won enviable distinction 
being: regarded as the friend of mankind. 

"Before this war Europe did not believe in us as she does now 

* * * she seems to have believed that we were holding off because 
we thought we could make more by staying out than by going in. 

* * * When they saw that America went in to support the great 
cause which they held in common, that America not only held the ideals 
but acted the ideals, they were converted to America and became firm 
partisans of these ideals. 

"Speaking * * * jn the name of the people of the United 
States I have uttered as the objects of this great war ideals, and nothing 
but ideals, and the war has been won by that inspiration. * * * jf 
America were at this juncture to fail the world, what would come of it? 

"I do not mean any disrespect to any other great nation when I 
say that America is the hope of the world. And if she does not justify 
that hope results are unthinkable." 

"We set this Nation up to make men free and we did not confine 
our conception and purpose to America, and now we will make men 
free." 

"Think of the picture: America said, 'We are your friends,' but 
it was only for today, not for tomorrow. America said, 'We set up 
light to lead men along the paths of liberty, but we have lowered it — 
it is intended only to light our own path.' 

"When I think of the homes upon which dull despair would settle 
if this great hope is disappointed, I should wish for my part never to 
have had America play any part whatever in this attempt to emancipate 
the world." 

March 4, 1919. (Address at New York). 

"Europe is a bit sick at heart at this moment because it sees. 
that the statesmen have had no vision and that the only vision has been 
the vision of the people. 

"Those who suffer see. Those against whom wrong is wrought 
know how desirable is the right of the righteous. Nations that have 
long been under the heel * * * have called out to the world, 
generation after generation, for justice, hberation, and succor, and no 
cabinet in the world has heard them. * * * no nation has said to 
the nations responsible 'You must stop; this thing is intolerable and 
we will not permit it.' 

'It was set up for the benefit of mankind ; it was set up to illustrate 
the highest ideals and to achieve the highest aspirations of men who 
wanted to be free, and the world of today beheves that and counts on us, 
and would be thrown back into th'e blackness of despair if we deserted 
It." 

* * If men cannot now, after this long agony of bloody 
sweat, come to their self-possession a\ ^^ ^^^ ^^^Jw to regulate the affairs 
of the world we will sink back into a p ^^'^^^^ o^ struggle in which there 
will be no hope, and therefore no mercy. " 

And those boys Avent over there m t^^ the feeling that they were 
sacredly bound to the realization of those ideals * * * that they 
were crossmg those 3,000 miles of sea in ora'^i" *« show to Europe that 
the Lnited States when it became necc ^>sary, >would go anywhere where 
tlie rights of mankind were threatened. " 

[3iJ 



"* * * it must not be over until the nations of the world are 
assured of the permanency of peace." 

"* * * when they (the peoples of Europe) saw the multitudes 
hastening across the sea * * * they stood at amaze and said: 
'The thing is real; this nation is the friend of mankind as it said it was.' 

"Nothing entangles a nation, hampers it, binds it, except to enter 
into a combination with some other nation against the other nations of 
the world." 

[I] (b) 
WAR AIMS 

Professions of British Statesmen 

PREMIER ASQUITH 

August 6, 1914: 

"* * * We are fighting to vindicate the principle that small 
nationalities are not to be crushed, in defiance of international good 
faith, by the arbitrary will of a strong and overmastering power." 

September 25, 1914: 

"* * * It means that room must be found and kept for the inde- 
pendent existence and free development of the smaller nationalities, 
each with a corporate consciousness of its own." 

November 10, 1914. (Guildhall Banquet): 

"Perhaps I might say primarily a war for the emancipation of the 
smaller states * * *, 

The peace must be such as will build upon a sure and stable foundation 
the security of the weak, the liberties of Europe and the free future of 
the world." 

November 9, 1915: 

"* * * But, be the journey long or short, we shall not pause or 
falter until we have secured for the smaller States of Europe their 
charter of independence, and for the world at large its final emancipa- 
tion from the reign of force." 

January 7, 1917: 

"We have believed, and we have maintained from the first day 
of the war, that we are fighting for no selfish purposes, but in the gen- 
eral service of civilization and humanity." 

September 26, 1917: 

"* * * This war * * * "is the creation of a world-wide poHcy 
uniting the peoples in a confederation of which Justice will be the 
base and Liberty the cornerstone." 

September 29, 1917: 

"An international system in which there will be a place for great 
and for small states, and under which both alike can be assured a 
stable foundation and an independent development." 

[35] 



MR. ARTHUR BALFOUR 
November 9, 1914: 

" * * * We are five nations; but we fight, not for ourselves alone, 
but for civilization, drawn to the cause of small States, the cause of all 
those countries which desire to develop their own civilization in their 
own way, following their own ideals without interference from any 
insolent and unauthorized aggressor. That is the cause for which we 
fight." 

SIR EDWARD GREY 
March 22, 1915: 

"* * * We wish the nations of Europe to bo free to live their 
independent lives, working out their own forms of government for 
themselves and their own national developments, whether they be 
great States or small States, in full liberty. That is our ideal." 

February 23, 1917: 

"This war * * * will secure to Europe * * * a peace in which 
each nation will be able to live its own life." 

MR. WINSTON CHURCHILL 

September 24, 1915: 

"We want a natural and harmonious settlement which liberates 
races, restores the integrity of nations and subjugates no one. * * *, 
Let us war against the principle of one set of Europeans holding down, 
by force and conquest, against their wills, another section." 

LORD ROBERT CECIL 
May 23, 1917: 

"I laid special stress on the fact that our aims and aspirations were 
dictated solely by our determination to secure a peace founded on 
national liberty and international amity, and that all imperialistic 
aims based on force or conquest were completely absent from our 
programme." 

July 24, 1917: 

"We want a * * * peace, resting not on conflict or domination, 
but on some national principle, so far as may be, which would secure 
that the settlement to be arrived at, so far as any settlement could be, 
should be secure from change or alteration in the future." 

MR. BONAR LAW 
September 4, 1914: 

"* * * We are fighting for the moral forces of humanity. Wc 
are fighting for the respect of public law and the right of public justice, 
which are the foundations of civiHzation. We are fighting, as the 
Prime Minister said, for right against might." 

January 24, 1917: 

"What President Wilson is longing for we are fighting for." 

[36] 



April 19, 1917: 

"America's aims and ideals are those of the Allies." 

July 26, 1917: 

"We are not only fighting for the freedom of ourselves — we are 
fighting for the rights of other nations * * * to live their own way * * *. 
The one thing we are fighting for is peace, and security for peace, in the 
time to come." 

PREMIER LLOYD GEORGE 
September 19, 1914: 

"The heroic deeds that thrill humanity, through generations 
were the deeds of little nations fighting for their freedom. Yes, and the 
salvation of mankind came through a little nation. God has chosen 
little nations as the vessels by which He carries His choicest wines to 
the lips of humanity, to rejoice their hearts, to exalt their vision, to 
stimulate and strengthen their faith ; and if we had stood by when two 
little nations were being crushed and broken by the brutal hands of 
barbarism, our shame would have rung down the everlasting ages." 

September 6, 1917: 

"* * * But if this is the day of Great Empires, it is also preemi- 
nently the day of little nations. It is around them that the greatest 
struggle for liberty centres." 

January 5, 1918: 

"* * * The settlement of the new Europe must be based on such 
grounds of reason and justice as will give some promise of stability. 
Therefore it is that we feel that government with the consent of the 
governed must be the basis of any territorial settlement in this war." 

January 1, 1917. (Times Report, Allied reply to German Peace Note): 

"Once again the Allies declare that no peace is possible as long as 
they have not secured reparation of the violated rights and liberties, 
recognition of the principle of nationalities, and of the free existence of 
small States."' 

January 12, 1917. (Times Report, Allied reply to President Wilson's 

Note) : 

"The Allied Nations are confident that they are fighting, not for 
selfish interests, but above all to safeguard the independence of peoples, 
right and humanity * * * , 

"Their war aims necessarily imply the re-organization of Europe, 
guaranteed by a stable regime, and based at once on respect for nation- 
ahties and liberty of economic development possessed by all peoples, 
small and great." 

February 4, 1917. 

"The Liberal Party has special interest in the causes for which 
we are struggling in this great war, and the principle that the rights of 
nations, however small, are as sacred as the rights of the biggest Empires.''' 

137] 



January 5, 1918, (Labor Conference): 

"The sanctity of treaties must be established; a territorial settle- 
ment must be secured based on the right of self-determination, or the 
consent of the governed." 

August 3, (Message read at all places of entertainment): 

"We are in this war for no selfish ends. We are in it to recover 
freedom for the nations who have been brutally attacked." 

August 9, 1918, (Report of Address at Castle Hotel): 

"When he saw an organized and insolent bully trampling on the 
weak, he felt he was pursuing his ideals in his endeavor to combat 
that oppression. 

"The world is a world for the weak as well as for the strong. If 
not, why did God make little nations?" 

April 16, 1919, (House of Commons): 

"Supposing you * * * re-organized Russia, what manner of gov- 
ernment would you set up there? 

"You must set up a Government which the people want; other- 
wise it would be an outrage on all the principles for which we fought 
in the war." 

July 21, 1920, (House of Commons): 

"Poland has chosen her own government by universal suffrage, 
and it is intolerable that any country from outside should come in and 
impose upon her a government which she does not want." 

April 17, 1917, (British Cabinet Message to America) 

"The glowing phrases of the President's noble deliverance illumine 
the horizon, and make clearer than ever the goal we are striving to 
reach. * * * These words represent the faith which inspires and sus- 
tains our people in the tremendous sacrifices they have made, and are 
still making. They also believe that the unity and peace of mankind 
can only rest upon democracy; upon the right of those who submit to 
authority to have a voice in their own government ; upon the rights and 
liberties of nations, both great and small, and upon the universal 
dominion of public right." 

[I] (c) 
WAR DECLARATIONS OF FRENCH STATESMEN 
M. CLEMENCEAU: 

"* * * To conquer in order to be just, has been the motto of our 
Governments since the beginning of the war. * * *." 

"* * * I have been asked to explain myself in regard to war aims 
and to the idea of a society of nations. I have replied in my declaration 
'We must conquer for the sake of Justice' * * *." 

[38] 



(To French Chamber 20th November, 1917) 

"The splendid victories of the last few weeks * * * are the 
first sheaves of the harvest of great rewards the chief of which will 
be to deliver the world from an oppression of implacable brutality and 
at one stroke to throw open the paths of progress to all the permanent 
centres of human civilization. The supreme obstacle to the estab- 
lishment of right among men is about to disappear amid the shouts of 
victory which it is our duty to turn into a triumph of humanity. * * *." 

"* * * The sole reward they ask is to collaborate with all peoples 
of just conscience in solving the problems of lofty and social justice 
which will be the generous fruit of the grandest victory of all ages. ***."" 

M. POINCARE, President of the French Repubhc, January 18th, 1918, 
opening the Peace Conference: 

"* * * While the conflict was gradually extending over the 
entire surface of the earth the clanking of chains was heard here and 
there, and captive nationalities from the depths of their age-long gaols 
cried out to us for help. * * * The Jugo-Slavs, the Armenians, the 
Syrians, the Lebanese, the Arabs, all the oppressed peoples, all the 
victims, long helpless or resigned, of great historical deeds of injustice, 
all the martyrs of the past, all the outraged consciences, all the strangled 
liberties revived at the clash of our arms and turned towards us, as 
their natural defenders. Thus the war gradually attained the fullness 
of its first significance, and became, in the fullest sense of the term, a 
crusade of humanity for Right; and if anything can console us in part 
at least, for the losses we have suffered, it is assuredly the thought 
that our victory is also the victory of Right. * * * , 

* * * And in the Hght of those truths you intend to ac- 
complish your mission. You will therefore seek nothing but justice, 
'justice that has no favourites,' justice in territorial problems, justice 
in financial problems, justice in economic problems * * * . 

"* * * What justice banishes is the dream of conquest and 
imperialism, contempt for national will, the arbitrary exchange of 
provinces between states as though peoples were but articles of furni- 
ture or pawns in a game. The time is no more when diplomatists 
could meet to redraw with authority the map of empires on the 
corner of a table. If you are to remake the map of the world it is in 
the name of the peoples * * *. 

"* * * As it is to have for its essential aim to prevent, as far as 
possible the renewal of wars it will, above all, seek to gain respect for 
the peace which you will have estabhshed, and will find it the less 
difficult to maintain in proportion, as this peace will in itself imply 
greater realities of justice and safer guarantees of stability. 

"By establishing this new order of things you will meet the aspi- 
ration of humanity, which, after the frightful convulsions of these 
bloodstained years, ardently wishes to feel itself protected by a union 
of free peoples against the ever-possible revivals of primitive savagery. 
An immortal glory will attach to the names of the nations and the men 
who have desired to cooperate in this grand work in faith and brother- 
hood and who have taken pains to eliminate from the future peace 
causes of disturbance and instability. " 

[39] 



[i] (d) 

BRITAIN'S RECRUITING PLEDGE 

Following are copies of two official appeals to the manhood of Ireland, 
published throughout Ireland as late as 1918 with the authority of the British 
War Office: [Numbered: (117) 5626. 3. 20,000. Falconer G. 5] 

(1) 
IRELAND AND AMERICA 

"The Star-Spangled Banner is unfurled for the fight. There is not 
the slightest ambiguity about the language of President Wilson: 

'"Territory, sovereignty or political relationship — any or all of these — 
to be settled upon the basis of the free acceptance of that settlement by the 
people immediately concerned'. 

"The President also said: 

"'We are concerting with our Allies to make not only the liberties of 
America secure, but the liberties of every other people as well'. 

''No man can read these ivords ivithout applying them to Ireland as well 
as to Belgium, Poland, the Jugo-Slavs and the Ukraine. The Allies {and 
America clearly states this) cannot undertake to free the peoples under Germany 
and Austria and leave OTHER peoples under a system of Government ivhich 
they resent. America, speaking through its President, declares that 'the 
liberties of every other people' are as valued and are to be made secure, aye, 
as the liberties of America. Will Ireland fight for this freedom? America 
will see her rights are secured.'" 

(2) 

IRELAND AND THE PEACE CONFERENCE 

"The Allies declare in specific terms that they are out to give freedom 
to Small Nationalities. The Central Powers, Germany and Austria refuse 
to declare any such thing, and their treatment of Belgium, Serbia, Mon- 
tenegro and Roumania in the present war is enough to show their prin- 
ciples and method. But they go further and ask the Allies to agree to 
close out all nations not in the enjoyment of freedom prior to the war. The 
Allies refuse. Is it not in the interest of Ireland then to test the public 
declarations of the AlHes, and -aid them in the fight they are waging for 
Small Nationahties. They cannot tlien in the face of Euro])e give freedom to 
all tlie Small Nations and leave Ireland out.''' 



[I] (e) 

EXTRACTS FROM RECENT U. S. NOTES 

American Principles Reasserted 

The principles for which the United States' stands are reasserted in the 
latest State document, that of Secretary Colby in a Note to Italy, August 
10, 1920: 

"That the present rulers of Russia do not rule by the will or the 
consent of any considerable proportion of the Russian peoples is an 
incontestable fact. * * * Without any desire to interfere in the 

[40] 



internal affairs of the Russian people or to suggest what kind of govern- 
ment they shall have, the government of the United States does express 
the hope that they will soon find a way to set up a government repre- 
senting their free will and purpose." 

Speaking of Finland, ethnic Poland, the Armenian state, and the 
necessity of maintaining their independence. Secretary Colby said: 

"The aspirations of these peoples for independence are legitimate. 
Each was forcibly annexed, and their liberation from oppressive alien 
rule involves no aggression against Russia's territorial rights and has 
received the sanction of the public opinion of all free peoples. Such a 
declaration pre-supposes the withdrawal of all foreign troops from the 
territory embraced by these boundaries." 

[I](f) 
ROTH HOUSES OF CONGRESS RECOGNIZE IRELAND 

On March 4, 1919, by a vote of 216 to 41, the House of Representatives 
resolved : 

"That it is the earnest hope of the Congress of the United States 
of America, that the Peace Conference now sitting at Paris and passing 
upon the rights of the various peoples will favorably consider the 
claims of Ireland to self-determination." 

On June 6, 1919, the Senate by a vote to which there was only one dis- 
sentient, resolved: 

"That the Senate of the United States earnestly request the 
American Plenipotentiary Commissioners at Versailles to endeavor to 
secure for Eamon de Valer«, Arthur Griffith, and George Noble Count 
Plunkett, a hearing before the said Peace Conference in order that they 
may present the cause of Ireland, and resolved further, that the Senate 
of the United States express its sympathy with the aspiration of the 
Irish people for a government of its own choice." 

TREATY OF PEACE WITH GERMANY 
Irish Reservation 
Senate Resolution, March 18, 1920: 

"In consenting to the ratification of the treaty with Germany 
the United States adheres to the principle of self-determination and to 
the resolution of sympathy with the aspiration of the Irish people for 
a government of their own choice adopted by the Senate, June, 6, 1919, 
and declares that when self-government is attained by Ireland, a con- 
summation it is hoped is at hand, it should promptly be admitted as 
a member of the League of Nations." 



41] 



[II] 

"Ireland A Nation" 

The fact that nationhood is not denied to Ireland, except by those who 
have an obvious special interest in the denial, makes it unnecessary to labor 
any proof of it. 

G. K. Chesterton, the well-known English publicist, accepts the fact 
as obvious: — 

'«* * * jf Aunt Jane is not a person there is no such thing as a 
person, and I say with equal conviction that if Ireland is not a nation then 
there is no such thing as a nation: France is not a nation, England is not a 
nation; there is no such thing as patriotism on this planet. 

"* * * if we free Ireland we must free it to be a nation; if we go 
on repressing Ireland we are repressing a nation ; if we are right to repress 
Ireland we are right to repress a nation. 

"* * * I will not argue with a man about whether Ireland is a 
nation, or about the yet more awful question of whether it is an island." 
— ("Irish Impressions" pp. 187-188). 

Mr. H. H. Asquith, when Premier of England, said: 

"There are few cases in history — as a student of history I myself know 
of none — of a nationhood at once so distinct, so persistent and so assimilative 
as the Irish. * * * j start then with the proposition that Ireland is a 
nation." 

And again: 

"I have always maintained, and I maintain as strongly today that 
* * * Ireland is a nation. Not two nations, but one nation, and that 
the condition of the success of any scheme that statesmen can devise is the 
recognition, the full and generous recognition, of Irish nationality." 

It is interesting to test Ireland's title to nationhood by accepted current 
definitions. Professor Yeomans in the "Cyclopedia of American Govern- 
ment," citing Burgess and Garner, defines a "nation" as follows: 

"A body of people possessing racial unity. Racial unity can, however, 
no longer be identified with community of origin * * * A nation is a 
population with a feeling of ethnic solidarity, due to the existence of one or 
more of a variety of factors of which the following are most important: 
a common origin; a common language; a common literature, tradition and 
history; a common religion; common customs and habits of hfe; common 
interests of any sort whether due to geographic unity, to similarity of occu- 
pation, or to anything else. No one of these factors is indispensable and 
no one is necessarily decisive in making a nation. The relative strength of 
every factor has varied in the past and will vary again." 

[421 



It would be difficult to point to any nation in tlie world that combines 
so many of these factors of nationhood as Ireland. Surely Poland, Czecho- 
slovakia and Jugo-Slavia, rightfully recognized as independent, do not 
begin to approach Ireland in the distinctive character of their nationhood. 

The British "Joint Commission on the Problem of the International 
Settlement," an organization of English publicists, in Memorandum IV 
of jts series, has this to say of Ireland: 

"Ireland has all the attributes of a nation. Her boundaries cannot be 
disputed. Her peoples from the earliest times have known the country 
by a single name, and give it an undivided affection. Through long ages 
she has been famous for work in gold and metal, in stone and in parchment. 
Her written history, compiled by her own scholars, is as old as that of 
l^ngland. She possesses an ancient and splendid literature. The work of 
her unbroken roll of learned scholars and poets for over a thousand years 
has, during the last three hundred years, been preserved by the devotion 
of her people, who in their darkest hour still labored in their cabins to copy 
and continue the manuscript tradition left them by their fathers. There is 
no other instance in Europe of a zeal such as this. The national conscious- 
ness of the people, based on a great tradition, has never failed, and is now 
of passionate intensity." — ("Ireland" p. 13) 

"The early history of Ireland reveals a story of singular beauty and 
spiritual dignity. Instead of a country of barbarian disorder, Ireland 
appears as a land of mixed races united under Celtic leadership in an intense 
national faith. 

"The whole country was, from earliest times, known by a single name, 
liiire, which later took the form of Ireland. Its chroniclers began writing 
its history in the seventh century, and from, at least as early as the eighth 
century a code of laws existed for the whole of Ireland. National senti- 
ment was inspired by love of the country itself, and its geography was part 
of the earliest literature. Schools of learning were so ordered as to be in 
fact a National University, and by their care the Irish language was guarded 
and perfected as the language of Ireland one and indivisible. It is the early 
unity of all Ireland in its intellectual and spiritual life which reveals the 
soul of the country and which has given it from the first the fervour of 
national consciousness. 

"What is known of the political life of the time reveals a settled govern- 
ment which commanded the affection of the people and social conditions 
both humane and reasonable. Communication with continental peoples 
was frequent, and Irish travellers — poets, missionaries, scholars and traders 
were found in every land. Woolen goods, leather work, fine embroideries, 
and other wares from Ireland were known in Europe as far even as Naples 
and Russia. Irish scholars above all had a great repute, especially as 
teachers, in foreign lands. Ireland lived no secluded life, but was in direct 
contact with the trade, the science, and the literature of Europe. The wealth 
of the country invited many invaders — Danes, Normans, and English. The 
invasion of Henry II, in 1169, broke the unity of the national life and the 
natural progress of civilization, culture and government. Two contending 
forms of civilization were set against each other, one based on a political 
and imperial idea of a State — the other on the national and spiritual tradi- 
tion of a country. The conflict thus begun has continued to the present 
day * * *" — ("Ireland" pp. 3-4.) 

'This larger history of Ireland is unknown in England, to the loss of 
both countries. But there can be no understanding of the country unless 
we recognize the deepest passion of the race, the soul that has been fash- 

[43] 



ioiied in that long spiritual and intellectual history. Economic questions 
and political discontents are important, because until they are rightly 
settled the greater matter of material life are withered and broken. But 
after a century of conflicts over the material problems of land, and local 
government, and an Irish Parhament, the national uprising of today has 
made it clear that the greater demand which lies above and beyond all others, 
is that Ireland shall have the power to establish a true national civilization, 
and a culture worthy of the tradition which is the proudest inheritance of 
the race. 

"Ireland desires 'to possess her own soul, so that it may be at liberty 
and rest, and free to contribute to the higher development of neighboring 
races and of the human race generally.' " — ("Ireland" pp. 13-14.) 

[HI] (a) 

The Renunciation Act, 1783 

The Colonial Parliament of Ireland represented only the English in 
Ireland. It was co-eval with the English Parliament, however, and strove 
to maintain its independence through the centuries. By the 18th century 
the attitude of the Colonists had become more assertively Irish and the 
contest for supremacy between the two Parliaments, accordingly, became 
more intense. The Renunciation Act, of 1783, was regarded as finally 
ending the struggle with victory for the Irish Parliament. Under this Act 
the English Parhament explicitly acknowledged the right and title of the 
people of Ireland to govern themselves, and definitely renounced forever 
English pretensions thereto. Following is copy of the Act : 

(RENUNCIATION ACT, 1783) 

"Geohge III. (Anno Vicesimo Tertio) Cap. XXVIII. 

An act for removing and preventing all doubts which have arisen, or might arise, concerning 
the exclusive rights of the parliament and courts of IRELAND in matters of legislation and 
judicature; and for preventing any writ of error or appeal from any of his Majesty's courts in 
that kingdom from being received, heard, and adjudged, in any of his Majesty's courts in the 
kingdom of GRK\T BRITAIN. 

Whereas, by an act of the last session of this present parliametd (intituled An Act to 
appeal an act, made in the sixth year of the reign of his late majesty King George the First, 
intituled, An act for the better securing the dependency of the kingdom of IRELAND upon the 
crown of GREAT BRITAIN;) it was enacted. That the said last mentioned act, and all matters 
and things (herein contained, should be repealed; and whereas doubts have arisen whether the 
provisions of the said act are sufficient to secure to the people of IREL\ND the rights claimed 
by them to be bound only by laivs enacted by his Majesty and the parliameid of that kingdom, in 
all cases whatever, and to have all actions and suits at larv or in equity, which may be instituted 
in that kingdom, decided in his Majesty's courts therein finally, and without appeal from thence: 
therefore, for removing all doubts respecting the same, may it please your Majesty that it 
may be declared and enacted; and be it declared and enacted by the King's most excellent 
majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal, and com- 
mons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same. That the 
said right claimed by the people of Ireland to be bound only by laws enacted by his Majesty and 
the parliament of that kingdom, in all cases whatever, and to have all actioris and suits at law 
or in equity, which niay he instituted in that kingdom, decided in his Majesty's courts therein 
finally, and wilhoul appeal from thence, shall be. and it is hereby declared to be established, and 
ascertained foreiK'r. and shall, at no time hereafter, be questioned or questionable. 

"11. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid. That no writ of error or 
appeal shall be received or adjudged, or any other proceeding be had by or in any of his 
Majesty's courts in this kingdom, in any action or suit at law or in equity, instituted in any 
of his Majesty's courts in the kingdom of Ireland; and that all such writs, appeals or pro- 
ceedings, shall be, and they are hereby declared null and void to all intents and purposes; 
and that all records, transcripts of records or proceedings, which have been transmitted 

[41] 



from Ireland to Great Britain, by virtue of any writ of error or appeal, and upon which no 
judgment has been given or decree pronoimced before the first day of June, one thousand 
seven hundred and eighty-two, shall, upon application made by or in behalf of the party in 
whose favor judgment was given, or decree pronounced, in Ireland, be delivered to such 
party, or any person by him authorized to apply for and receive the same." 

This Act and the Treaty of Limerick (1691) stand out chief among 
Britain's many "scraps of paper," in her relations with the Irisli Nation. 

[HI] (b) 

The So-Called "United Kingdom" and 

the Act of "Union" 

No argument is more frequently used by British Ministers as an 
excuse for refusing the people of Ireland the right of self-determination 
than the argument that for Ireland to declare herself independent would 
be "secession" similar to the attempted secession of the Southern States 
from the American Union. 

How audaciously false this analogy is can only be realized by those who 
know how different in moral binding force was the forced Act of Union that 
created the so-called "United Kingdom," and the voluntary contract which 
united the states of America. 

No Enghsh statesman or jurist has been able to maintain that the 
Act of Union was a contract binding on the Irish people. 

W. E. Gladstone, former Prime Minister of England, speaking at Liver- 
pool, on June 28, 1886, said: 

"There is no blacker or fouler transaction in the history of man 
than the making of the union between Great Britain and Ireland. 
* * * The carrying of it was nothing in the world but an artful 
combination of fraud and force, applied in the basest manner to the 
attainment of an end which all Ireland detested. * * * A more 
base proceeding, a more vile proceeding, is not recorded, in my judg- 
ment, in any page of history." 

And, in the House of Commons, London, on April 16, 1886, he said: 

"We used the whole civil government of Ireland as an engine of 
wholesale corruption. * * * j ^ju ^jjjy gg^y ^i^^i ^g obtained that 
Union against the sense of every class of the community, by wholesale 
bribery and unblushing intimidation." 

At West Calder, in 1893, Mr. Gladstone said: 

"The Act of Union was carried by means so indescribably foul 
and vile that it can have no moral title for existence whatsoever." 

And, again, on January 28, 1897, he said: 

"Union with Ireland has no moral force * * * it rests on no 
moral basis. That is the line I would always take were I an Irishman. 
That is the line which as an Englishman I now take." 

[45] 



And, elsewhere, he spoke of the means by which the "Union" was carried 
as "unspeakably criminal." 

A. V. Dicey, English jurist, in politics an Unionist, was compelled to 
admit that: 

"The Union was passed under circumstances which would have 
made any other conveyance null and void." 

W. E. H. Lecky, the historian, also an Unionist, said of it: 

"In a country where the sentiment of nationality was as intense 
as in any part of Europe, it destroyed the national legislature contrary to 
the manifest ivish of the people, and by means so corrupt, treacherous, 
and shameful that they are never likely to be forgotten. The Union 
of 1800 was not only a great crime, but was also like most crimes— a 
great blunder." 

No one will hold that such statements as these have been made by the 
advocates of the South in the Civil War. 

Lest they appear to be wild or irresponsible exaggerations it is per- 
haps better to enter into some details: 

The Act of Union which created the "United Kingdom," and to which 
the British appeal when they talk of an analogy between the case of Ireland 
seeking her independence and the case of the Southern States seceding, was 
invalid, not only because it was a direct violation of the Act of Renunciation 
(Appendix [III]) passed 17 years before, but also because: 

1. It was passed by a Parliament whose members were in no sense 
representatives of the Irish people. 

2. These members did not vote freely for it, but were bribed and 
intimidated by the British Ministers. 

3. It was ultra vires for the Parliament to pass such legislation 
even if it had been representative of the people and had its members 
been ever so anxious of their own accord to pass it. They were not 
competent legally to do so. The Parhament was intended, as Lord 
Plunkett warned them, to make "laws," not "legislatures." Only the 
sovereign people could vote away their own sovereignty. 

4. It was passed against the will and in spite of the protests of 
the Irish people, who were prevented by a regime of mihtary toiior 
from resisting it. 

It is not necessary to dwell on the non-representative character of tlie 
Irish Parliament. In England itself. Parliament did not begin to be repre- 
sentative of the people till the reform act of 1832. Students of English 
history do not need to be informed of its character, previous to that dale. 
Conditions were similar in the case of the Irish Parliament, only the latter 
was a colonial or settler parliament as well as an ascendancy class par- 
hament of the most restricted type. It did not represent even the 
Protestant minority resident in Ireland. It represented only a few noble 
families and great proprietors, and those on the English government pay- 
roll in Ireland: 

[46] 



"British clerks and officers were smuggled into her Parliament to 
vote away the constitution of a country to which they were strangers, 
and in which they had neither interest nor connection. They were 
employed to cancel the royal charter of the Irish Nation, guaranteed 
by the British Government, sanctioned by the British legislature, and 
unequivocally confirmed by the words, the signature, and the Great 
Seal of their Monarch." 

This is the account of a contemporary Irish historian. Sir Jonah Bar- 
rington. 

The actual facts of the passing of the "Union" were set forth by Earl 
Grey, a former British Prime Minister, speaking in the English Parliament, 
April 2, 1800, he said: 

"I no not mean to speak disrespectfully of the Irish Parliament. 
But the facts are notorious. 

"There are three hundred members in all, and one hundred and 
twenty of these strenuously opposed the measure (Act of Union), 
among whom were two-thirds of the county members, the representa- 
tives of the City of DubUn, and almost all the towns which it is pro- 
posed shall send members to the Imperial Parliament^. 

"One hundred and sixty-two voted in favor of the Union— of these, 
one hundred and sixteen were placemen, some of them were English 
Generals on the Staff, without one foot of ground in Ireland and com- 
pletely dependent upon (English) Government. 

"Is there any ground then to presume that even the Parliament 
of Ireland thinks as the Rt. Hon. gentleman supposes; or that, acting 
only from a regard to the good of their country, the members would 
not have reprobated the measure as strongly and as unanimously as the 
rest of the people (of Ireland) ? 

"But this is not all. First, let us reflect upon the arts which have 
been used since the last session of the Irish Parliament, to pack a major- 
ity in the House of Commons (of Ireland). All holding offices under 
(iovernment, even the most intimate friends of the Minister, who had 
uniformly supported his administration till the present occasion, if 
they hesitated to vote as directed, were dismissed from office and 
stripped of their employments. 

"Even this step was found ineffectual and other arts were had 
recourse to, which I cannot name in this place; all will easily conjecture. 
* * * / defy any man to lay his hand upon his heart and say that he 
believes the Parliament of Ireland was sincerely in favor of the measure.'" 

The legal competency of Parliament to pass the Act of Union was denied 
by the chief Irish lawyers. 

The Attorney General, Saurin, said: 

"* * * You cannot make it obligatory on conscience; it will be 
obeyed as long as England is strong, but resistance to it will be in the 
abstract, a duty; and the exhibition of that resistance will be a mere 
(juestion of prudence." 

[47] 



Lord Chief Justice Bushe: 

"I look upon it (the Union) as England reclaiming in a moment 
of our weakness that domination which we extorted from her in a 
moment of our virtue — a domination which she uniformly abused, 
which invariably oppressed and impoverished us and from the cessa- 
tion of which we date all our prosperity." 

Mr. Fitzgerald, ex-Prime-Sergeant-at-Law, raised the vital constitutional 

question, and said: 

"It is not, in my opinion, within the moral competence of Parlia- 
ment, to destroy and extinguish itself, and with it the rights and 
liberties of those who created it. The constituent parts of a State 
are obliged to hold their public faith with each other, and with all 
those who derive any serious interest under their engagements; such 
a compact may, with respect to Great Britain, be a union; but with 
respect to Ireland, it will be a revolution, and a revolution of a most 
alarming nature." 

Lord Plunkett, later Lord Chancellor, was most explicit of all. His exact 

words were: 

"I, in the most express terms, deny the competency of Parlia- 
ment to do this act. I wain you, do not dare to lay your hands upon 
the Constitution. I tell you, that if, circumstanced as you are, you 
pass this act, it will be a mere nullity, and no man in Ireland will be 
bound to obey it. I make the assertion dehberately. I repeat it; 
I call on any man who hears me to take down my words. You have 
not been elected for this purpose. You are appointed to make laws, 
and not legislatures. You are appointed to exercise the function of 
Legislators, and not to transfer them. You are appointed to act under 
the Constitution, and not to alter it; and if you do so, your act is a 
dissolution of the Government — you resolve society into its original 
elements, and no man in the land is bound to obey you. * * * You 
may extinguish yourselves, but Parliament you cannot extinguish. It 
is enthroned in the hearts of the people; it is enthroned in the sanctuary 
of the Constitution; it is immutable as the island it protects." 

In these opinions the Irish lawyers are fully borne out by inter- 
national authorities such as Grotius and Locke: 

Grotius says: 

"If the supreme power shall really attempt to hand over the king- 
dom or put it into subjection to another, I have no doubt, that in this 
it may be lawfully resisted. For as I have said before, it is in that 
case another government, another holding of it; which change the 
people have a right to oppose. — ("Rights of War and Peace," L, 
IV., 10.) 

Locke, in Chap. XIX., section 217, of his Treatise on Civil Government, 
says: 

"The delivery also of the people into subjection of a foreign power, 
either by the Prince or by the Legislature, is a dissolution of the Govern- 
ment. For the end why people entered into society being to be pre- 
served one entire, free, independent society, to be governed by its 
own laws; this is lost whenever they are given up into the power of 

[48] 



another * * * Whensoever, therefore, the legislature shall trans- 
gress this fundamental rule of society, and either by ambition, fear, 
folly, or corruption, endeavour to grasp themselves, or put into the 
hands of another, an absolute power over the lives, liberties, and 
estates of the people; by this breach of trust they forfeit the power the 
people had put into their hands for quite contrary ends, and it devolves 
to the people, who have a right to resume their original hberty, and 
by the establishment of a new legislature (such as they shall see fit) 
provide for their own safety and security; which is the end for which 
they are in society." — (Ed. 1694, p. 338). 

The legislative body cannot transfer the power of making laws to any 
other hands, for being but a delegated power, they who have it cannot pass 
it over to any others. 

It is superfluous to enter into details to show the circumstances of 
military repression attending the passage of the Act of Union. That it 
was not a contract voluntaiily entered into by Ireland is best evidenced 
by the fact that from the day of its passing it has been necessary to use 
perpetual force and coercion to maintain it. 

As regards the pretended moral obligation of the "Union : " at the present 
day, independent of its origin, it would have lost all binding force on the 
Irish people through England having herself broken the supposed agreement 
in almost every particular. 



[19] 



[IV] 

Ireland's Exercise of the Right of 
Self-Determination 

The Popular Elections in Ireland, 1918 and 19W. 

Addressing the House of Commons, in April, 1920, the present British 
Prime Minister (Mr. D. Lloyd George) said: 

"If you asked the people of Ireland what they would accept, by 
an emphatic majority they would say: 'We want independence and 
an Irish Republic' There is absolutely no doubt about that. The 
elected representatives of Ireland no?/' by a clear, definite majority, have 
declared in favor of independence — of secession." 

Had there been any ambiguity or indecisiveness as to the expression 
of the national will of Ireland, the responsible head of the British Govern- 
ment would not have recorded such judgment. It is of importance that 
this manifestation of the will of the Irish people should be appreciated 
by other foreign executives and peoples. 

The three recent occasions on which the will of the Irish Nation was 
made manifest were; (a) the General National Parliamentary Elections of 
December, 1918; (b) the Municipal and Urban Elections of January, 1920; 
and (c) the County and Rural District Councils Elections of June, 1920. 
An examination of the results of these elections will confirm the British 
Premier's conclusion. 

National Parliamentary Elections, 1918. 

The issue was clearly put to the people (see Exhibits B and C). Those 
who voted for the nominees of the Sinn Fein Party knew that they were 
voting for complete independence, for the establishment of a republic, for 
the repudiation of the British Parliament, and for the policy of active op- 
position to British government in Ireland. The Irish Unionist Alliance (the 
pro-English Party in Ireland), in a statement on the 1918 elections, said: 

"The General Election of December, 1918, was the first occasion 
when the numerical strength of Sinn Fein could be officially known, 
for they contested all the constituencies against the sitting Home Rule 
members. They stood boldly on the issue of an Irish Republic, free from 
all connection with England, and on that issue swept the Home Rule 
party out of existence." 

Leaving out of account the four LTniversity seats, whose occupants were 
elected on a special, restricted, and in fact, duplicated franchise — not to 
be considered in a plebiscite — Ireland is divided into electoral districts which 
return a total of one hundred and one (101) representatives. Of these 
representatives elected in December, 1918, seventy-two (72) belonged to 

[50] 



the Sinn Fein Party, that is, stood unequivocally for an independent Irish 
RepubHc; six (6) belonged to the old Parliamentary Party (these were 
self-determinationists and did not oppose the ideal of a republic as such, 
except on the ground that it was in their view, at the moment, unattain- 
able); twenty-one (21) belonged to the Unionist Party proper; and two (2) 
were Independent Unionists. 

Reckoned in terms of numbers of representatives elected, the Repub- 
licans secured a majority of practically 23^2 to 1 over all parties, and the 
self-determinationists (Republicans and Parliamentarians together) a 
majority of nearly 33/2 to 1, standing against the idea of union with England. 

In terms of popular vote, 311,210 votes were cast for Union with 
England, out of a total of 1,519,898, or in other words, a bare 20 per cent. 

There are four provinces in Ireland, viz: Leinster, Munster, Connaught, 
and Ulster, and these are subdivided into thirty-two counties. 

In the province of Leinster, of its twenty-seven (27) members, every 
one elected, with one exception — and he only by a plurality of fifty-four (54) 
votes — was a Republican. 

In the province of Munster, of its twenty-four (24) members, every 
one elected, with one exception — and he a self-determinationist — was a 
Republican. 

In the province of Connaught, of its thirteen (13) members, every one 
elected was a Republican. 

Ulster elected thirty-seven (37) members; of these twenty (20) were 
official Unionists, two (2) Independent Unionists. The remaining fifteen 
(15) opposed the connection with Rritain, ten (10) of the number being 
Republicans, and five (5) self-determinationists. 

Ulster has nine (9) counties. The combined Republicans and Self- 
Delerminationisis polled a majority in no less than five (5) of the nine (9), and 
secured the entire representation in three counties: whilst the Unionists secured 
a majority in four counties only, and were able to secure the entire repre- 
sentation in not one (Ulster) county. Outside of Antrim, there were 
elected in the province of Ulster, as many as fourteen (14) representatives 
opposed to Rritain, as against ten (10) Unionists in favor of Britain. 
Only in the County of Antrim, which includes the city of Belfast, did 
the Unionists secure anything like a homogeneous predominance. That 
county is given as many as thirteen (13) representatives. Of these 
twelve (12) returned were Unionists, so that over one-half of the total 
popular Unionist representation in Ireland comes from a single county. 

In all Ireland there are thirty-two (32) counties. In no one county was 
an entirely Unionist representation elected. In four only did the Unionists 
poll even a majority. 

Compare with the Republicans, who polled a majority in no less 
than twenty-seven (27) counties, and secured the entire representation in as 
many as twenty-four {'2U). 

Further, not a single one of the six (6) Irish boroughs returned an 
entirely Unionist representation, whereas /our (//) out of the six (6*) boroughs 
returned an entirely Republican representation. In only one of the six (6) 
Irish boroughs is the Unionist representation even a majority. 

The result was even more decisive of the national will of Ireland than 
its figures indicate. 

To appreciate its full significance the conditions under which it was 
held must be considered. The whole election machinery, of course, was in 

151] 



British hands. Ireland was governed by martial law. Avowed Republi- 
cans were proscribed and Republican leaders were thrown into jail on the 
flimsiest charges. Every method that suggested itself for disorganizing the 
Sinn Fein party was utilized. 

In some cases the primaries were broken up by the English soldiery 
and police; many of the candidates had to be selected at secret meetings 
in out-of-the-way places. Only twenty-six (26) of the seventy-three (73) 
Sinn Fein candidates were out of prison. Even some of these at liberty 
were prohibited from addressing electors. Republican newspapers were 
everywhere suppressed, and the entire press of the country subjected to 
British censorship. Free speech, free assemblage, were everywhere denied. 
Republican headquarters, central and local, were constantly raided; elec- 
toral lists were seized, and pamphlets and leaflets destroyed on sight; 
posters and handbills put up by the Republicans were torn down by the 
military and the police. The whole power of the British Government was 
employed to prevent a Republican verdict at the polls, and to secure a 
verdict favorable to England. Aeroplanes were used to distribute warnings 
against voting for Republican candidates. Opposition speakers were given 
every facility; the Repubhcan speakers were harassed without respite. 
The public press, the power of patronage and dismissal, cajolery and intimi- 
dation were all actively employed. Despite these influences and forces, a 
few among many, the verdict of the people was unmistakably for the estab- 
lishment of the Irish Republic. 

These elections were general — that is, they were held in every one of 
the electoral districts throughout the country. They were by ballot on 
the basis of adult suffrage, so that practicafly erery grown man and woman 
in the island could vole. They were in effect a plebiscite of the whole nation, 
and so it is impossible for anyone any longer to pretend that what the Irish 
people want is not definitely known. 

As the Irish people's efl'ort represents the only efibrt made by a nation 
to adopt the civilized program suggested by President Wilson; as their 
present claim to international recognition will be regarded in history as the 
acid test of the sincerity of the professions of statesmen during the war, and 
as, if successful, it will mark an epoch in the history of the development of 
democratic institutions and the substitution of peaceful methods for the 
methods of force in international affairs, these elections merit a special and 
extended consideration. 

Below are set forth the official returns of the elections referred to: 



[IV] (a) 

Irish Self-Determination 
General (Parliamentary) Elections, December, 1918 

Exclusive of the four (1) University scats, IrclaiKl at (lie last ckrliun lolurntd one 
hundred and one (101) representatives: 

Republican (supporting an Irish Republic) 72 

Nationalist (demanding self-determination) 6 

Unionists favoring union with England (Official) 21 

Unionists favoring union with England (Independent) 2 

101 

[52] 



UNIVERSITY SEATS 

Rep. Nat. Un. Tnd.Un. 

National (Dublin, Cork, Galway, etc.) 1,644 813 

Queen's (Belfast) 118 1,487 

Dublin (Trinity) 257 1,904 793 

Total. 1,762 1,070 3,391 793 

DETAILS OF THE POPULAR RETURNS BY PROVINCES: 
LEINSTER 

Dublin City: Rep. Nat. Un. 

Clontarf 5,974 3,228 

College Green.. 9,662 2,853 

Harbour 7,708 5,386 

St. James' 6,256 1,556 

St. Michan's 7,553 3,996 

Stephen's Green 8,461 2,902 2,755 



4,064 



23,985 2,755 



Dublin, North 9,138 4,428 

South 5,133 3,819 

Pembroke 6,114 2,629 

Rathmines 5,566 1,780 



Dublin County seats. 25,951 

Kildare, North 5,979 

South. , 7,104 

Kildare County 13,083 



Kilkenny, North 16,113 

South 8,685 

Kilkenny County Seats... * - 24,798 

King's County 25,702 



Mcath, North 6,982 3,758 

South 6,371 2,680 

Meath County Seats. 13,353 6,438 

Queen's County 13,452 6,480 

Westmealh County 12,435 4,061 

Wexford, North 10,162 7,189 

South... 8,729 8,211 

Wexford County Seats 18,891 15,400 



Wicklow, West 6,239 1,370 

East... 5,916 2,466 2,600 



Wicklow County Seats 12,155 3,836 2,600 

Total for Leinster 251,296 93,666 21,247 

Percentage 68.6 25. .57 5.8 

[53] 



MUNSTER 

Rep. Nat. 

Cork City 41,307 14,642 

Limerick City 17,121 

Waterford City 4,431 4,915 

Total for boroughs 62,859 19,557 

Counties: 

Clare, East 23,511 

West 21,674 

Clare County Seats 45,185 

Cork, North 17,949 

Northeast 18,239 

Mid 16,632 

East 19,022 

West 16,659 

South 17,593 

Southeast 17,419 

Cork County Seats 123,513 

Kerry, North 17,600 

West 18,853 

South 16,835 

East 17,222 

Kerry County Seats 70,510 

Limerick, West 22,562 

East : — 12,750 3,608 

Limerick County Seats 35,312 3,608 

Tipperary, North 16,455 

Mid. 17,458 

South ! 8.744 2,701 

East 7,487 4,794 

Tipperary County Seals....^ 50,144 7.495 

Waterford County _ 12,890 4,217 

Total for Munster 400,413 34,877 

Percentage 91 .0 8.0 

CONNAUGHT Rep. Nat. 

Galway, Connemara 1 1,754 3,482 

North 8,896 3,999 

East 17,777 

South 10,621 1,744 

Galway County Seats 49,048 9,225 

Leitrim County 17,711 3,096 

Mayo, North 7,429 1,761 

West - 10,195 7,568 

South 21,567 

East 8,975 4,514 

Mayo County Seats 48,166 13,843 

[51] 



Roscommon, North 21,258 

South 10,685 4,323 

Roscommon Comity Seats 31,943 4,323 

Sligo, North 9,030 4,242 

South 9,113 1,988 



Sligo County Seats 18,143 6,230 



Total for Connaught. _ 165.011 36.717 Nil. 

Percentage 81 .8 18.2 



ULSTER 

In Ulster, in eight seats, an arrangement was come to between Sinn Fein and the 
Nationahst ParUamentary party to prevent them falling to the Unionists on a minority 
vote. These seats are indicated thus*. The Column headed "Self-Determination Vote" 
is the total of the Sinn Fein and so-called NationaKst vote. 

Self-Det. 
Rep. Nat. Vote Un. Ind.Un. 

Belfast, Cromac 997 997 11,459 2,508 

Duncairn 271 2,449 2,720 11,637 

Falls 3,245 8,488 11,733 

Ormeau 338 338 7,460 4,833 

Pottinger 393 393 8,574 3,172 

St. .\nne's.... 1,341 1,341 9,155 1,752 

ShankiU 534 534 15,514 

Woodvale 1.247 1,247 12,232 

Victoria 395 395 12,778 



Total 8,761 10,937 19,698 60,517 40,557 

Derry City „ 7,335 120 7,455 7,020 



Counties: 

.\ntrim. North 2,673 2,673 9,621 

Mid 2,791 2,791 10,711 

East 861 861 15,206 

South 2,318 2,318 13,270 



Antrim County Seats 8,643 8,643 48,808 

Armagh, North 2,860 2,860 10,239 

Mid 5,688 5,688 8,431 

*South 79 4,345 4,424 



Armagh County Seats 8,627 4,345 12,972 18,670 



Cavan, West 22,270 22,270 t 

East 21,148 21,148 j 

Cavan County Seats 43,418 43,418 

Deny, North 3,951 3,951 10,530 

South 3,425 3,981 7,406 8,942 



Derry County Seats 7,376 3,981 11,357 19,472 



fin these districts pubUc opinion was so overwhelmingly Republican that there was 
no opposition — the Republican candidate alone was nominated. 



Donegal, North. 
South.. 
West... 
East...- 



7,003 

5,787 

6,712 

40 



3,075 
4,752 
4,116 
7,596 



10,078 

10,539 

10,828 

7,636 



Down, North.. 
West.... 

Mid 

*East... 
*South. 



1,725 

707 

3,876 

33 



4,312 
8,756 



1,725 

707 

8,188 

8,789 



Fermanagh, North 6,236 

*South 6,673 



32 



6,236 
6,805 



Monaghan, North 6,842 

South 7,524 



Monaghan County Seats 14,366 



Tyrone, Northeast 56 

Northwest 10.442 

South 5,437 



2,709 
4,413 



11,605 
"'2^602 



9,551 
11,937 



11,661 
10,442 
8,039 



1,797 



Donegal County Seats 19,542 19,539 39,081 4,797 



9,200 

10,559 

10.639 

6,007 

5,573 



Down County Seats 6,341 13,068 19,409 41,978 



6,768 
4,524 



Fermanagh County Seats :. 12,909 132 13,041 11,292 



4,497 



21,488 4,497 



6,681 

7,696 

10,616 



Tyrone County Seats.. 15,935 14,207 30,142 24,993 



Total for Ulster. 153,253 73,451 



The Percentage of votes in Ulster follows: 

Cavan 

Donegal 

Monaghan 

Tyrone 

Fermanagh 

Armagh 

Derry 

Down 

Antrim 



2,153 



436 
,589 



226,704 


242,044 


43,146 


Self-Det 






Vote 


Un. 


Total 


100 




100 


90 


10 


100 


83 


17 


100 


55 


45 


100 


54 


46 


100 


41 


59 


100 


37 


63 


100 


30 


70 


100 


15 


85 


100 



SUMMARY 

The percentages of votes throughout Ireland follow: 



Rep. 

Leinster 68 .6 

Munster 91 .0 

Connaught 81 .8 

Ulster 30.0 

ALL IRELAND 63.6 





Self-Det. 








Nat. 


Vote 


Un. 


Ind. Un. 


Total 


25.57 


94.17 


5,8 


0.0 


100 


8.0 


99.0 


1.0 


0.0 


100 


18.2 


100.0 


0.0 


0.0 


100 


14.3 


44.3 


47.3 


8.4 


100 


15.7 


79.3 


17.8 


2.9 


100 



TOTAL VOTES FOR ALL IRELAND 

Self-Det. 

Rep. Nat. Vote Un. Ind. Un. Total 

Including Universities 971,735 239,781 1,211,516 271,455 43,939 1,526,910 

Excluding Universities 969,973 238,711 1,208,684 268,064 43,146 1,519,894 



[56] 



[IV] (b) 
Municipal Elections, January, 1920 

A fresh opportunity presented itself to the Irish people in 1920, to 
record the national determination in favor of the Irish Republic, established 
by the vote of December, 1918. The Municipal and Urban Elections of 
January, 1920, resulted in an overwhelming Republican victory. 

Eleven (11) of the twelve (12) Cities and Boroughs, and ninety-two (92) 
of the one hundred and sixteen (116) towns are Republican, have formally 
and publicly pledged their allegiance to the Government of the Irish Repub- 
lic, and carry into effect the decrees promulgated by the National Congress 
(Dail Eireann). The City and Urban Councils so pledged are channels 
through which the new Irish Government functions. 

CITIES AND BOROUGHS 

For the Irish Republic: 

Dublin Derry Kilkenny Waterford 

Cork Drogheda Limerick Wexford 

Clonmel Galway Sligo 

For Union with England: 
Belfast. 

Number of Irish Cities and Boroughs for Irish Republic 11 

Number of Irish Cities and Boroughs for Union with England.. 1 

Leinster townships 

For Irish Bepublic: 

Ardee; Arklow; Athy; Bagnalstown; Balbriggan; Birr; Blackrock; 
Bray; Callan; Cailow; Dalkey; Dundalk; Edenderry; Enniscorthy; Gorey; 
Granard; Howth; Kells; Kingstown (Dun Laoghaire) ; Longford ; Maryboro'; 
MountmelHck; ]\Iul]ingar: Naas; Navan; Newbridge; New Ross; Pem- 
broke; Trim; Tullamore; Wicklow. 

For Union with England: 
Killiney; Rathmines. 

Number of Leinster Towns for Irish Republic. 31 

Number of Leinster Towns for Union with England 2 

JMUNSTER 

For Irish Republic: 

Bandon; Bantry; Carrick-on-Suir; Cashel; Clonakilty; Dungarvan; 
Ennis; Fermoy; Fethard; Kilkee; Killarney; Kilrush; Kinsale; Lismore; 
Macroom; Mallow; Midleton; Nenagh; Newcastle West; Passage West; 
Listowel; Queenstown (Cobh); Rathkeale; Skibbereen; Templemore; Thur- 
les; Tipperary; Tralee; Youghal. 

For Union with England: — None. 

Number of Munster Towns for Irish Republic 29 

Number of Alunster Towns for Union with England 

CONNAUGHT 

For Irish Republic: 

Athlone; Ballina; BaUinasloe; Boyle; Castlebai'; Loughrea; Roscom- 
mon ; Tuam ; Westport. 

[57] 



Fur Union with England:— None. 

Number of Connaught Towns for Irish Republic 9 

Number of Connaught Towns for Union with England 

Ulster 

For Irish Republic: 

Armagh; Aughnacloy; Bally bay; Bally shannon ; Belturbet; Buncrana; 
Bundoran; Carrickmacross ; Castleblayney; Cavan; Clones; Cootehill; 
Downpatrick; Donaghadee; Enniskillen; Gilford; Keady; Letterkenny; 
Monaghan; Newry; Omagh; Strabane; Warrenpoint. 

For Union with England: 

Antrim; Bally clare; Ballymena; Ballymoney; Banbridge; Bangor; 
Carrickfergus; Coleraine; Cookstown; Dromore; Dungannon; Holy wood; 
Larne; Limavady; Lisburn; Lurgan; Newcastle (Down); Newtownards; 
Portadown; Portrush; Portstewart; Tanderagee. 

Number of Ulster Towns for Irish Republic 23 

Number of Ulster Towns for Union with England... 22 

CITIES, BOROUGHS, AND TOWNS 

Returns of Councils by Provinces. 

For Union 

Total For With 

Province Councils Republic England 

Leinster 37 35 2 

Munster. 33 33 

Connaught 11 11 

Ulster 47 24 23 

■ Grand Totals, 4 Provinces 128 103 25 



IV (c) 

COUNTY COUNCIL ELECTIONS, JUNE, 1920 

Following returns indicate: (a) the County Councils by provinces; (/>) 

the total number of seats in each Council; (c) the total number to which 

Republicans were elected; and, (d) the total number of seats won by 
candidates favoring union with England: 

Total For For Un. 

Leinster: Seats Rep. with Eng 

Carlow 20 20 

Dublin 19 16 3 

Kildare 21 21 

Kilkenny 19 19 

King's County 21 21 

Longford 20 20 

Louth 28 28 

Meath 21 21 

Queen's County 22 21 1 

Westmeath 23 23 

Wexford 19 19 

WicUow 19 19 

12 Councils 252 248 4 

[58J 



Total For For Un. 

MuNSTEB : Seats Rep. with Eng 

Cork 32 32 

Clare 20 20 

Kerry 20 20 

Limerick 20 20 

Tipperarv, North 20 20 

Tipperary South 23 23 

Waterford 20 20 

7 Councils 155 155 

Connaught: 

Galway 20 20 

Leitrim 19 19 

Mayo 24 24 

Roscommon 20 20 

Sligo 20 20 

5 Councils 103 103 

Ulster : 

Antrim... : 21 3 18 

Armagh 23 8 15 

Cavan 20 20 

Derry 19 8 11 

Donegal 20 18 2 

Down 20 7 13 

Fermanagh 20 11 9 

Monaghan 20 16 4 

Tyrone 26 15 11 

9 Councils ....- 189 106 83 

SUMMARY RY PROVINCES 

No. of Total No. Total No. Total No. 
Councils Seats Rep. Seats Un. Seats 

Leinster 12 252 248 4 

Munster... 7 155 155 

Connaught 5 103 103 

Ulster 9 189 106 83 

Grand Totals 33 699 612 87 

IV (d) 

Rural District Council Elections, June, 1920 

LEINSTER 

For Other For Total 

Republic Self-Deter- Union With No. Of Council 

County CarlOW: minationists England Seats 

Baltinglass No. 2 8 .... .... 8 repubucan 

Carlow 37 .... .... 37 republican 

Idrone 9 .... .... 9 republican 

Total 54 54 

Percentage of seats 100 .... .... 100 

County Dublin: 

Ralrothery 17 1 .... 18 republican 

Celbride No. 2 6 .... .... 6 republican 

Nt. Dublin 5 1 .... 6 republican 

St. Dublin 6 .... .... 6 republican 

Rathdown No. 1 6 .... 1 7 republican 

Total 40 2 1 43 

Percentage of seats 93 4.7 2.3 100 



[59] 



For 

County Kildare: 

Athy No. 1 20 

Baltinglass No. 2 2 

Celbridge No. 1 8 

Edenderry No. 2 11 

Naas No. 1 30 

Total 71 

Percentage of seats 87 .7 

County Kilkenny: 

Callan 22 

Carrick-on-Suir No. 3 8 

Castlecomer 8 

Ida 10 

Kilkenny 13 

Thomastown 23 

Urlingford No. 1 11 

Waterford No. 2 15 

Total 110 

Percentage of seats 94.9 

King's County: 

Birr No. 1 29 

Edenderry No. 1 13 

Roscrea No. 2 9 

Tullamore 24 

Total 75 

Percentage of seats 96 .2 

County Longfohd: 

Bally luahon - 13 

Granard 21 

Longford 17 

Total '. 51 

Percentage of seats 100 

County Louth: 

Ardee No. 1 8 

Dundalk 9 

Louth 7 

Total 21 

Percentage of seats 60 

County Meath: 

Ardee No. 2 4 

Dunshaughlin 10 

Edenderry No. 3 2 

Kells 20 

Meath 8 

Navan 1 1 

Oldcastle 6 

Trim 19 

Total 80 

Percentage of seats 88 .9 



Other 
Self-Deter- 
ninationists 


For 

Union With 

England 


Total 
No. Of 
Seats 


Council 


3 


3 


26 


REPUBLICAN 


1 




3 


REPUBLICAN 


1 




9 


BEPireLICAN 






11 


REPUBLICAN 


2 




32 


REPUBLICAN 













8.6 


3 
3 7 


81 
100 









22 


REPUBLICAN 






8 


REPUBLICAN 




i 


9 


REPUBLICAN 




.... 


10 


REPUBLICAN 


1 




14 


REPUBLICAN 


4 






REPUBLICAN 






n 


REPUBLICAN 






15 


REPUBLICAN 


5 


1 


116 




4.3 


.9 


100 








29 


REPUBLICAN 






15 


REPUBLICAN 




1 


10 


REPUBLICAN 






24 


REPUBLICAN 


9 


1 


78 




2.6 


13 


100 








]:\ 


REPUBLICAN 






21 


REPUBLICAN 






17 


REPUBLICAN 






51 
100 




8 




16 


REPUBLICAN 


6 




15 


REPUBLICAN 






9 


REPUBLICAN 


16 




10 




40 


.... 


100 




9 




6 


REPUBLICAN 


2 




12 


REPUBLICAN 




i 


3 


REPUBLICAN 


r 




21 


REPUBLICAN 


1 




«) 


REPUBLICAN 


1 




11 


REPUBLICAN 






(> 


REPUBLICAN 


3 




22 


REPUBLICAN 


9 


1 


*)() 




10 


1.1 


100 





f60] 



For Other For 

^ , _, Republic Self-Deter- Union With 

Queen S CoTINTY: minationists England 

Abbeyleix 24 3 

Athy No. 2 10 

Mounlmellick 39 

Roscrea No. 3 5 1 

Slieveniargy 10 

Total - 88 4 

Percentage of seat s 95.7 4.4 

County Westmeath: 

Athlone No. 1 13 

Ballymore 6 

Coole 6 

Delvin 17 2 

Mullingar 39 11 

Total 81 13 

Percentage of .seats.- 86.2 13.8 

County Wexford: 

Enniscorthy 27 1 

(iorey 25 3 

New Ross 20 5 

Wexford 20 4 

Total 92 13 

Percentage of seats 86.2 13.8 

County Wicklow: 

Baltinglass No. 1 24 

Naas No. 2 6 

Rathdown No. 2 4 2 

Rathdrum J 21 3 

Shillelagh 13 3 

Total. 68 8 

Percentage of seats.- 89 5 10,4 



Total 
No. Of 
Seats 


Council 


27 
10 
39 
6 
10 


REPUBLICAN 
REPUBLICAN 
REPUBLICAN 
REPUBLICAN 
REPUBLICAN 


92 
100 




13 
6 
6 

19 

50 


REPUBLICAN 
REPUBLICAN 
REPUBLICAN 
REPUBLICAN 
REPUTBLIC^N 


94 
100 




28 
28 
25 
24 


REPUBLICAN 
REPUBLICAN 
REPUBLICAN 
REPUBLICAN 


105 
100 




24 

6 

6 

24 

16 


REPUBLICAN 
REPUBLICAN 
REPUBLICAN 
REPUBLICAN 
REPUBLICAN ■ 


76 
100 





SUMMARY FOR LEINSTER 



Leinster Representatives 834 79 7 920 

Total percentage of seats 90.7 8.6 .8 100 

Total Leinster Councils - .58 



y\ll Bepublican 



MUNSTER 

County Clare : 

Bally vaughan 11 

Corofin - - 9 

Ennis - — 16 

Ennistymon - 20 

Kildysert - 11 

Kilrush 32 

Limerick No. 2.. , - - 7 

Scariff-.- - -.-. 19 

Tulla - 17 

Total 142 

Percentage of seats 99 . 3 



11 


REPUBLICAN 


9 


REPUBLICAN 


17 


REPUBLICAN 


20 


REPUBLICAN 


11 


REPUBLICAN 


32 


REPUBLICAN 


7 


REPUBLICAN 


19 


REPUBLICAN 


17 


REPUBLICAN 



[61] 



County Cork: 

Bantry ..- 16 

Bandon 24 

Castletown 7 

Charleville 7 

Clonakilty 17 

Cork 30 

Dunmanway 15 

Fermoy 19 



For Other For 

Republic Self-Deter- Union With 
minationists England 



Kanturk. 

Kinsale 

Macroom 

Mallow 

Midleton 

Millstreet 

Mitchelstown No. 1 

Skibbereen 

Schiill. 

Yoiighal No. 1... 



Total 
No. Of 
Seats 

16 
24 

7 

9 
18 
30 
16 
19 
33 
19 
23 
19 
18 
12 
11 
23 
11 

6 



Total 310 

Percentage of seats 98 . 8 



314 
100 



County Kerry: 

Cahirciveen 22 

Dingle 20 

Kenmare 16 

Killarney 28 

Listowel 31 

Tralee 32 



Total 


149 


Percentage of seats 

County Limerick: 


100 

20 


Glen 


6 


Kilmallock 


24 


Limerick No. 1 

Mitchelstown No. 2 

Newcastle West 


20 

6 

29 


Rathkeale 


25 


Tipperary No. 2 


7 



Total 137 

Percentage of seats 100 

County Tipperary : 

Cgirrick-on-Suir, No. 1 6 

Cashel 21 

Clogheen 15 

Clonmel No. 1 5 

Slieveardagh. 9 

Tipperary No. 1 19 

Gortnahoe 5 

Birr No. 2 4 

Borrisokane....... 15 

Nenagh 25 

Roscrea No. 1 11 

Thurles 18 

Total 153 

Percentage of seats 96 .2 

[62] 





20 




16 




28 




31 




32 




149 




100 




20 




6 




24 




20 




6 




29 




25 

7 


- 


137 




100 




6 


1 


22 




15 


3 


8 




9 




19 




5 




4 




15 




25 


1 1 


13 




18 


5 1 


159 


19 .6 


100 



For Other For Total 

_ ^,, Republic Self-Deter- Union With No. Of Council 

LOUNTY WaTERFORD: minationists England Seats 

Carrick-on-Suir ^.... 10 .... .... 10 republican 

Clonmel No. 2 6 .... .... 6 republican 

Dungarvan 13 .... .... 13 republican 

Kilmacthomas 19 .... .... 19 republican 

Lismore 17 .... 1 18 republican 

Walerford No. 1 18 1 .... 19 republican 

Youghal No. 2 6 .... .... 6 republican 

Total 89 1 1 91 

Percentage of seats 97.8 1.1 1,1 100 



SUMMAR.Y FOR MUNSTER 



Munster Representatives 982 8 3 993 

Percentage for Munster. 98.9 .8 .3 100 

Total Councils in Munster 60 



All Bepuhlican 



CONNAUGHT 

For Other For Total 

„ „ Republic Self-Deter- Union With No. Of 
County (jALWAY: minationists England Seats 

Ballinasloe 17 17 

Clifden 15 5 .... 20 

Galway... _ 21 21 

Glenamaddy 21 .... .... 21 

Gort .- _ 19 19 

Loughrea 33 2 .... 35 

Mount Bellew 14 .... ... 14 

Oughterard 17 .... ... ]7 

Portumna 15 .... ... 15 

Tuani 36 1 .... 37 

Total 208 8 .... 216 

Percentage of seats 95.4 3.7 .... 100 

County Leitrim: 

Ballinamore 12 .... .... 12 

Carrick-on-Shannon No. 1 17 .... .... 17 

Kinlough 6 .... .... 6 

Manorhamilton 21 1 .... 22 

Mohill 23 .... .... 23 

Total... 79 1 .... 80 

Percentage of seats... 98.8 1.2 .... 100 

County Mayo: 

Ballina 26 26 

Ballinrobe 18 18 

Belmullet... 15 .... .... 15 

Castlebar 17 17 

Claremorris 19 .... .... 19 

Swinford 24 ... .... 24 

Westport 28 1 .... 29 

Total 147 1 .... 148 

Percentage of seats 98.6 .7 .... 100 



republican 
republican 
republican 
republican 
republican 
republican 
republican 
republican 
republican 
republican 



REPUBLICAN 
REPUBLICAN 
REPUBLICAN 
REPUBLICAN 
REPUBLICAN 



REPUBLICAN 
REPUBLICAN 
REPUBLICAN 
REPUBLICAN 
REPUBLICAN 
REPUBLICAN 
REPUBLICAN 



[63] 



For Other For Total 
Republic Self -Deter- Union With No. Of 

County Roscommon: minationists England Seats 

AthloneNo.2 10 ... .... 10 

Ballinasloe No. 2 4 .... ... 4 

Boyle No. 1 19 19 

Carrick-on-Shannon No. 2 8 ... 8 

Castlereagh 19 ... 19 

Roscommon 19 ... 19 

Strokestown.. 20 .... -. 20 

Total 99 .... .-. 99 

Percentage of seats 100 .... ... 100 

County Sligo: 

Boyle No. 2...... 15 . . 15 

Dromore West 15 1 16 

Sligo - 24 .... 24 

Tubercurry 24 .... 24 

Total 78 1 -. 79 

Percentage of seats 98.7 1.3 100 



SUMMARY FOR CONNAUCIIT 
11 



Total Representatives for Connaught .... 611 
Percentage of seats 98 



622 
100 



Total councils in Connaught -- 33 



ULSTER 

For 

Antrim: Republic 

Antrim 

BaUycastle 5 

Ballymena 

Ballymoney 2 

Belfast -- 

Lame 

Lisburn 2 

Total 9 

Percentage of seats .... 6.8 

Armagh: 

Armagh 6 

Crossmaglen 4 

Lurgan 1 

Newry No. 2 7 

Tanderagee 

Total 18 

Percentage of seats .... 27 .3 

Cavan: 

Bailieboro. 9 

Bawnboy 10 

Castlerahan 9 

Cavan...-- - 43 

Enniskillen 8 

Mullaghoran 7 

Total 86 

Percentage of seats -... 89 6 



For Self For 

Determination Labor 



15 
11 4 



11 

16.6 



For 

Union 



10 



1 

15 



98 

74.2 



36 
54.6 



6 
6.2 



Total 
21 
15 
19 
19 
26 
13 
19 



1.32 
100 



66 
100 



96 
100 



UNIONIST 

REP.-NAT. 

UNIONIST 

EVEN 

UNIONIST 

UNIONIST 

UNIONIST 



UNIONIST 

REP.-NAT. 

UNIONIST 

REPUBLICAN 

UNIONIST 



[64] 



1^ For 

Donegal: Republic 

Ballyshannnn 7 

Donegal -. 11 

Dunfanaghy 10 

Glenlies 24 

Inishowen 15 

Letterkenny. 7 

Derry No. 2 2 

Milford. 13 

Strabane No. 2 11. 

Stranorlar 6 

Total , 101 

Percentage of scats . . 66 4 

Down: 

Banbridge 2 

Castlereagh ^ 

Down Patrick. 6 

Hillsborough 

Kilkeel 7 

Moira 

Newry No. 1 5 

Newtownards 

Total 20 

Percentage of seats .... 18 .2 

Fermanagh : 

Beleek... 3 

Clones No. 2.. 3 

Enniskillen No. 1 12 

Irvinestown... 3 

Lisnaskea 7 

Total 28 

Percentage of seats .... 35 . 5 

Derry: 

Coleraine 

Limavady. - 4 

Derry No. 1 -- 3 

Magberafelt 8 

Total 

Percentage of seats 

MONAGHAN : 

Carrickmacross 

Castleblayney 

Clones No. 1 

Monaghan 

Total -- 45 

Percentage of seats .... 71 .4 

Tyrone: 

Castlederg 7 

Clogher .- 7 

Cookstown.... 5 

Dungannon — 4 

Omagh --.. 26 

Strabane No. 1 .. 3 

Total -- 52 

Percentage of seats .— 42 . 6 



For Self For 

Determination Labor 



10 
9.1 



13 
16.4 



6 
5.4 



For 

Union 



20 
13.1 



67 



Total 
9 
18 
10 
27 
21 
16 
8 
22 

To 
11 

1.52 
100 



19 
9 
26 
15 
10 
6 
10 
15 

110 
100 



6 

9 

29 

15 

20 

79 
100 



7 
11.1 



18 
14.8 

[65] 



11 

17.5 



7 
9 
6 
8 
13 
9 

52 
42.6 



63 
100 



14 
16 

17 
17 
39 
19 

122 
100 



REPUBLICAN 

REPUBLICAN 

REPUBLICAN 

REPUBLICAN 

REPUBLICAN 

REPUBLICAN 

EVEN 

REPUBLICAN 

EVEN 

REPUBLICAN 



UNIONIST 

UNIONIST 

EVEN 

UNIONIST 

REPUBLICAN 

UNIONIST 

REP.-NAT. 

UNIONIST 



REPUBLICAN 

REP.-NAT. 

UNIONIST 

UNIONIST 

REP.-NAT. 



UNIONIST 
UNIONIST 
UNIONIST 
REP.-NAT. 



15 


16 


41 


72 




20.8 


22.2 


57.0 


100 




13 


2 




15 


UNIONIST 


12 


2 




14 


REPUBLICAN 


6 


1 


6 


13 


REP.-NAT. 


14 


2 


5 


21 


REPUBLICAN 



EVEN 

UNIONIST 

REP.-NAT. 

REP.-NAT. 

REPUBLICAN 

REP.-NAT. 



SUMMARY FOR ULSTER 



Ulster representatives 
Percentage of seats 



574 


124 


18 


376 


892 


11.9 


13.9 


2.0 


42.2 


100 



Total No. of Councils 

Republican 21 

Republican-Nationalist 10 

31 

Unionist - - - - - 19 

Evenly divided.. — 5 

Total Ulster Councils - 55 

SUMMARY FOR ALL IRELAND 

No. of Rep. Rep.-Nat. Un. Even 
Councils 

Leinster 58 58 

Munster .- -. 60 60 

Connaught.. 33 33 

Ulster - 55 21 10 19 5 



Total - 206 172 10 19 

Percentage of seats 100 83.5 4.9 9.2 

Percentage of combined Republican 

and Republican -Nationalists Seats 88 . 4 



[661 



[V] 
THE "ULSTER" QUESTION ANALYZED* 

Erroneous ideas prevalent with regard to Ireland as the result of an 
extensive and carefully directed propaganda are well illustrated in the views 
commonly held about Ulster. 

This Irish province is spoken of as though its people formed in them- 
selves a separate nation ; as though it were territorially distinct and its people 
different in race, religion and general characteristics, from the rest of 
Ireland's inhabitants. 

Ulster's people are represented as leading a more progressive existence, 
more cultured, more industrious, more prosperous and as possessed of a 
broader political outlook than Irish people generally. 

It would be difficult to conceive of a case so completely misrepresented, 
for the truth is: 

1. That in one only of the nine counties of geographical Ulster do 
the political conditions at all approximate to those commonly held as 
obtaining throughout the entire Province. In fact the zone of political 
Ulster, as it is understood by most foreigners, does not extend even 
throughout this one county (Antrim), but is confined (as shown in 
appendix) to its county seat, the city of Belfast. 

2. That there is no district in Ulster where the inhabitants could, 
with any degree of accuracy, be termed a different race from the people 
of the rest of Ireland. 

3. That the supposed progressiveness of Ulster is a myth, pure 
and simple, as will be shown. 

The fact that the Gaelic inhabitants of a large part of Ulster were 
deprived of their lands and that Scotch and English settlers were "planted" 
on these lands is the supposed historic background for this so-called "Ulster" 
condition. It is conveniently forgotten that while the ownership of the 
lands changed and many of the nobles were forced into exile, the clansmen 
remained in the country, outnumbering the newcomers, and made it their 
fixed goal to win their way back to their patrimony. 

Thus when the oppression of the landlords and English restriction on 
trade lirought economic depression on Ulster in the eighteenth century, the 
descendants of the colonists emigrated in large numbers to America, while 
Ulstermen of old Gaelic stock found occasion to reestablish themselves. 

Hence with more than three hundred years of intermarriage there are 
few native born Ulstermen or Ulsterwomen today in whom Gaelic blood 
does not predominate. 

The idea that Ulster is traditionally in favor of Union with England is 
also untrue and clearly disproved by the fact that in four insurrections, 

[*Note: The statistical returns in this Appendix [V] were taken mainly from "Ireland 
and the Ulster Legend." W. A. McKnight, London.] 

[67] 



since the plantation— 1641-1882-1798 and 1848— Ulstermcn led the way 
in seeking Irish Independence. 

In this they were merely perpetuating the prc-plantation Gaelic spirit 
of independence, the spirit of the O'Neills, the O'Donnells, and the other 
Northern princes. 

Racially Ulster remains Irish, and the great majority of its people have 
a perspective of Irish history that extends back twenty-four hundred (2400) 
years. 

ACTUAL ZONE OF ULSTER QUESTION 

The "Ulster question," in so far as there is one, is in reahty an "Antrim 
question," for in the county Antrim alone out of Ireland's thirty-two (32) 
counties have the Unionists, or British supporters, secured anything like a 
homogeneous political predominance. 

Outside of County Antrim the province of Ulster returned in the 
General Elections of 1918, fourteen (14) representatives opposed to British 
rule as compared to ten (10) Unionists favoring it. And of the thirteen (13) 
representatives returned by the County Antrim, nine (9) of these were 
elected by the city of Belfast alone; which fact practically reduces the zone 
of the "Ulster question" to a "Belfast question." 

The following table clearly indicates the preponderance of voters in 
Ulster, outside the County Antrim, who oppose any form of parliamentary 
Union with England : 

General Election, 1918 

Self-Det. Unionist 

Armagh 1 2 

Cavan 2 

Deny.. 1 2 

Donegal. 4 

Down 1 4 

Fermanagh 1 1 

Monaghan. 2 

Tyrone 2 1 

Total 14 10 

The votes cast in five of Ulster's nine counties show a substantial 
majority opposed to Union with England : 

Self-Det. Unionist 

Votes Votes 

Cavan ' 43,418 

Donegal 39,081 4,797 

Fermanagh. 13,041 11,292 

Monaghan 21,488 4,497 

Tyrone 30,142 24,993 

Total 147,170 45,579 

Plurality vote favoring Self-Determination for Ireland, 101,591 



[68] 



The votes cast in four of Ulster's nine counties show a majority, but 
less substantial, for Union with England. The votes in these Counties 
exclusive of the city of Belfast gave a majority for the Union: 

Self-Det. Unionist 

Votes Votes 

Antrim. 8,643 48,808 

Armagh 12,972 18,670 

Down 19,409 44,567 

Derry 18,812 26,492 

Total... 59,836 138,537 

Plurality vote favoring Union with England, 78,701. 

As the returns show in these four (4) Ulster counties there is a sub- 
stantial minority favoring self-determination for Ireland, and even in the 
city of Belfast 27,153 votes were cast in opposition to Union with England, 
and one representative was elected on the platform of Self-Determination. 

ANALYSIS OF ULSTER MINORITIES 

The percentage of votes cast in the county of Antrim entitled the 
combined forces of the Self-Determinationists to larger representation, for 
one (1) vote in every six (6) cast in Antrim was theirs. 

The Self-Determinationist minority in Antrim (the actual zone of the ''Ulster 
question' and Unionist predominance) is relatively almost as large as the 
Unionist minority in all Ireland. 

All arguments applying to the Ulster minority in Ireland as a whole 
apply equally to this anti-Union minority in Antrim. 

This constitutes a minority within a minority, which must enter into 
any detailed political analysis of Ulster. (See Appendix IV). 

After three hundred (300) years of persistent political effort and one 
hundred and forty (140) years of unceasing propaganda to build up in Ulster 
an English garrison, and to create a permanent barrier between the North 
and South — the zone of the Ulster "garrison" can now be defined as 
County Antrim. 

It can even with accuracy be limited to the city of Belfast, the county 
seat of Antrim, which in itself returns 36 percent or more than one-third 
(1-3) of all the Unionist representatives in Ireland. 

The Unionist minority in Ulster is a comparatively small rninority, 
much smaller than the minorities of Czechoslovakia and Jugo-Slavia. 

The anti-Unionist minority in Ulster is greater than the Unionist 
minority in the whole of Ireland. 

There is a North and a South in the United States. There is a North 
and South in England and a North and South in Germany. Ulster is 
Ireland's North, and Ulster is Irish in fibre and instinct. The union of the 
old and new Irish, of North and South, began in 1782. It was broken in 
1800 (See Appendix III). It is being restored today. 

"Let the truth be known, the mass of Irish Unionists are much more 
in love with Ireland than with England. They think Irish national- 
ists are mistaken, and they fight with them, and they use hard words, 
but all the time they believe Irishmen of any party are better in the 
sight of God than EngHshmen." — George Russell, (A.E.), an Ulster- 
man and Protestant, in his "Reply to Rudyard Kiphng." 

[69] 



ULSTER'S CLAIM TO SUPERIORITY EXAMINED 

For the purposes of British propaganda Ulster has been endowed with 
all the virtues and the other Irish Provinces with all the defects of humanity. 
Ulster is described as progressive and industrious, while the rest of Ireland 
is styled idle, reactionary and "priest-ridden." 

The facts are otherwise. With regard to wealth, population, industry, 
education, crime and disease — the tests of a people's well-being — British 
statistics of the 1911 census prove: 

1. That the wealth per capita of the population of Ulster is less than 
that of Leinster; 

2. That the depopulation of Ulster in the past century has been as 
great as elsewhere in Ireland ; 

3. That Belfast's two chief industries are not the main source of wealth 
in Ireland; 

4. That the people of Leinster take greater care with the education of 
their youth — that they contribute far more per capita for agricultural and 
technical instruction and provide more bursaries for University education; 

5. That there are more "illiterates" in Ulster than in any of the other 
Provinces; 

6. That there are far more "habitual criminals" at large; far more 
illegitimate births; far larger infantile mortality; far less prevention of tuber- 
culosis, though the death rate from this disease is higher — than in any other 
province. 

The following comparative tables show the amount paid by the rate 
payers of each Province: 

For Agricullural and Technical Instruction 



Money paid per 100 of popu- 
lation, 1909-1913... 

Money paid in Urban districts 
exclusive of Belfast and 
Dublin, per 100 of popula- 
tion 



Leinster 
$43.25 

$38.75 



Munster 
$32.50 

$21.50 



Connaught 

$24.75 

$22.00 



Ulster 
$33.75 

$26.00 



For University Scholarships and Bursaries under the Irish University Act. 



Money paid per 1,000 of popu- 
lation. March 31, 1911— 
March 31, 1914 



Leinster 
$30.25 



Munster 
$26.50 



Connaught 
$38.25 



Ulster 

$8.50 



[70] 



In the following statistics Ulster takes the leading places. 
Comparative Numbers of Illiterates 



Total Illiterates, 1911 census.. 


Leinster 
65,812 


Munster 
77,117 


Connaught 
75,817 


Ulster 
112,571 


Habitual Criminals 


Habitual Criminals at large, 
1909-1913 


Leinster 
76.0 


Munster 
63.0 


Connaught 
12.0 


Ulster 
461.0 


Houses of Criminal Resort 


Houses Classed as Resorts of 
Habitual Criminals, 1908- 
1912 


Leinster 


Munster 
9 


Connaught 




Ulster 
164 


Ulegitimale Births in Five Years 


Illegitimate Births, 1909-1913 


Leinster 
3,929 


Munster 

2,712 


Connaught 
471 


Ulster 
6,953 


Infant Mortality in Five Years 


Deatlis of Infants under one 
year, 1909-1913.. 


Leinster 
15,377 


Munster 
10,037 


Connaught 
3,930 


Ulster 
17,712 



Tuberculosis is to Ireland today what typhus was to Ireland of the 
famine days. The latter is now almost unknown in Ireland, and efforts are 
being made to stamp out Tuberculosis. In this crusade Ulster is less active 
than the other provinces. 

Deaths from Tuberculosis 



1913. 



Leinster 
2,932 

[71] 



Munster 
2,195 



Connaught 
913 



Ulster 
3,347 



Outlay for Prevention of Tuberculosis 



Money paid in 1913 for treat- 
ment and prevention of 
Tuberculosis, per 1,000 of 
population 



Leinster 



$11.50 



Munster 



$23.90 



Connaught 



$12.00 



Ulster 



$7.00 



In statistics of material wealth Ulster again drops below Leinster: 
Comparative Wealth of Provinces, 1911 



Leinster 

Munster 

Connaught 
Ulster 



Population 

1,162,044 

1,035,495 

610,984 

1,581,696 



Rateable 

Valuation 

£5,136,560 

3,493,329 

1,463,102 

5,521,021 



Per Capita 
Valuation 
£4-10-5 
£ 3-7-6 
£ 2-7-11 
£ 3-9-10 



Status of Counties by Rateable Valuation 



Rank 



9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. 
15. 
16. 
17. 
18. 
19. 
20. 
21. 
22. 
23. 



Counties 

Meath 

Westmeath 

Kildare 

Dublin 

Kilkenny 

Wicklow 

Waterford 

Queen's. 

Carlow 

Limerick 

Tipperary... 

King's 

Down 

Louth 

Fermanagh.. 

Monaghan 

Wexford 

Antrim 

Armagh '. 

Cork 

Longford 

Tyrone 

Derry 

[72] 



Per Capita 
rateable 

Valuation 
£8-10-2 
5-9-7 
5-2-7 
4-17-8 
4-17-2 
4-15-7 
4-14-9 
4-14-5 
4-13-8 
4-10-8 
4-10-6 
4-7-6 
4-1-11 
3-18-11 
3-18-6 
3-17-3 
3-16-7 
3-16-2 
3-13-9 
3-10-8 
3-10-1 
3-5-3 
3-4-6 



Political 
Adherence 

Republican 

Republican 

Republican 

Republican 

Republican 

Republican 

Republican 

Republican 

Republican 

Republican 

Republican 

Republican 

Unionist 

Republican 

Republican 

Republican 

Republican 

Unionist 

Unionist 

Republican 

Republican 

Rep.-Nat. 

Unionist 



Down, the Unionist County with the highest per capita valuation of 
wealth, is only thirteenth on the list. Antrim is nineteenth, for while there 
is wealth in Belfast, it is for the few: the ratio to the population is small. 
In this possibly lies the explanation of the fact that Antrim county lost 
297,605 of its people as emigrants between 1851 and 1911. Down lost 
162,511. 

A contented population, prosperous and increasing in numbers, is the 
basic test of a country's well-being. 

Ulster's roster of emigration tells the same story of decay as the other 
Irish provinces. 

Between 1851 and 1913 not less than 1,226,470 emigrants left Ulster, 
more than half of whom were males. 

The number of emigrants in the past 70 years is equivalent to 75 per 
cent of its population today. The number of males who emigrated, is 
equivalent to 85 per cent of all the males in Ulster today. In the first 
decade of this century the emigration from Ulster was one-third (1-3) of 
the emigration from all Ireland. It was twice as large as the emigration 
from Leinster in the same period. 

The loss to Ulster from emigration and the lack of prosperity that com- 
pelled the emigration are detailed in the following tables: 

Decrease in Population of Ulster 

Population in 1841... 2,386,373 

Population in 1911 1,580,242 

Decrease in 70 years 806,131 

Not only Catholics, but Protestants, found that Ulster under British 
rule promised them no livelihood. 

I 
Decrease in Various Denominations i 

Episcopahans Presbyterians 

1834 852,064 642,356 

1911... 376,171 421,566 

Decrease. 475,893 220,790 

Total Decrease, 696,683. 

Poland under Russia, Austria and Prussia, doubled its population in this 
period, while Ulster has now only two-thirds of its former population. 



DECAY OF ULSTER TOWNS j 

i 
In 1831 Hamiltonsbaun in Armagh was a town with 1014 people. 
In 1841 it was a village with 217 people. In 1901 it was a hajnlet with 70 
people. 

Similarly 17 towns in Ulster have been reduced to villages sinpe the Union. 



Decrease in Number of Homesteads 

In 1841 there were 403,645 homesteads in Ulster. In 19 
260,339 homesteads in Ulster. This marks a decrease of 1 
steads. 

[73] 



1 there were 
3,306 home- 



While emigration and famine have depopulated Ulster, while home- 
steads decreased and many towns went to decay under British rule in 
Ulster since the Union — taxation has increased: 

Ulster Taxation Per Capita 

1801 £ -6-2 

1819 : -15-5 

1914 2-9-4 

1918..: 6-2-8 

1919 8-0-0 

1920 10-9-0 

An instructive document upon the comparative wealth of Irish indus- 
tries, North and South, by George Russell, (A.E.), an Ulsterman and au- 
thority upon Irish trade, follows. It expands on the fact that the egg and 
poultry trade exports of Ireland for 1918 amounted to $41,500,000 more than 
the value of the ships built in Ireland this year: 

"The theory that Ulster Unionists create most of the wealth of 
the country is demonstrably untrue. One has only to read the report 
on the Irish Trade in Imports and Exports and compare the values of 
exports from Nationalist Ireland with the values of exports from 
Unionist Ireland to realize that agricultural and Nationalist Ireland 
is the great wealth producer. But even in this we cannot take figures 
at their face value. 

''The export of ships, mainly from Belfast, was valued in 1918 at 
£10,147,000, the highest recorded value, and the Belfast people are 
justly entitled to think with pride of these world-famous yards of 
theirs. But if we compare this output, not with the great cattle trade, 
but with one of the minor branches of Irish agricultural industry, the 
egg and poultry trade, shipbuilding as a wealth creating industry assumes 
its proper place. 

' The women on the farms in Ireland who have charge of the poultry 
without any advertisement at all, or any expressed vanity about their 
indusxry were able to export eggs and poultry in 1918 valued at 
£18,419,310. Now the point about this total as compared with the 
value of the output of the shipbuilders is that the nominal values do 
not iaiicate the real wealth created. Practically all the £18,449,310 
was mw wealth created out of the earth and not five per cent of the 
feeding stuffs used were imported. 

"If we look at the imports we see the immense sums paid for steel, 
iron, coal and other raw materials to enable the shipbuilders to get to 
work, so that less new wealth is created in one industry than in the other 
pound or pound in value. And this applies to almost all the industries 
carried on in Nationalist Ireland; a much smaller percentage of raw 
materids required is imported, and more real wealth is created not 
wonly ncminally, but if we examine into the means of production we 
find that there is more actual profit for the producer in every pound of 
final vaue than in the case of the manufacturing industries in North- 
East ULter. 

"I lo not wish to depreciate in any way the magnificent energy 
of Ulste- Irishmen. They have a right to be proud of what they have 
achievec, but it is not right to speak of that corner of Ireland, as so 
many d(, as the wealth-creating centre. It will really suffer much more 

[74] 



than the rest of Ireland under the regime Mr. Lloyd George has de- 
vised for it. 

"He has cleverly taken their own valuation of their wealth-pro- 
ducing capacity,, and he demands from six Ulster Counties a tribute of 
£7,920,000 annually. This will go to pay British workmen not Belfast 
workmen. I believe it will not take my Ulster countrymen very long 
to find out who really is oppressing them." 

English statesmen, following the slogan adopted by Lord Randolph 
Churchill in opposition to Parnell's movement, and taken up in 1914 by 
another Englishman, F. E. Smith, M.P., claim that Ulstermen will fight to 
retain Ulster under English rule instead of under their own. 

In view of the weight of evidence set out by the foregoing statistics 
this assumption on the part of English statesmen is not a tribute to the 
shrewd business sense, any more than to the patriotism, of the Ulsterman. 

THE MYTH OF RELIGIOUS DIFFERENCES 

Differences of religious belief are held to create an irreconcilable gulf 
between Irishmen in Ulster — because it has been the consistent policy of 
English statesmen to keep them divided, or to create a widespread impres- 
sion that they are so divided. The workings of this "Divide and Conquer" 
policy of empires is clearly traceable in Ulster from the Boyne down to the 
present Home Rule plan of a "separate Ulster." 

Religious strife was first aroused in Ireland after the Boyne, which was 
represented as a religious battle instead of what it was — a phase of the old 
struggle between the Gael and the Saxon, as Bannockburn, Benburb and 
Culloden were. 

Every device was utilized from that time forward to raise hostility 
between Protestant and Catholic — solely to strengthen England's hold on 
Ireland. 

At the time of Dean Swift's agitation against Wood's Halfpence, 
Boulter, the Protestant Archbishop of Armagh, wrote: 

"The worst of this is that it stands to unite Protestant and Papist; 
and whenever that happens — goodbye to the English interest in Ireland 
for ever." 

In 1779 Lord Grenville wrote to the British Lord Lieutenant of Ireland: 

"I cannot help feeling a very great anxiety that such measures 
may be taken as may effectually counteract the union between Catholics 
and Dissenters (Presbyterians) at which the latter are evidently aiming. 
There is no evil I would not prophesy of if that union takes place." 

When a delegation of Irishmen, including Grattan, interviewetl Pitt, 
urging the benefits of union and amity between Protestants a^d Catholics, 
Pitt replied: 

"Ay, but whose will they be when they come together." 

This Union, the one natural union for Irishmen, having take| place, 
a United Ireland in 1782 secured from England a free parliament ^nd free 
trade. In 1783 the Irish Volunteers (Protestant) demanded the ipligious 
emancipation of their Catholic countrymen. 

[75] 



John Adams writing from London to the President of Congress in 1783 
of the plans of English statesmen to break this union said : 

"Ireland is * * * throwing off the admiralty, postoffice and 
every other relic of British parhamentary authority, and contending 
for a free importation of their woolen manufactures into Portugal, 
for the trade to the East Indies, to the United States of America, and 
all the rest of the world * * * The Irish Volunteers are also con- 
tending for a parliamentary reform * * * and are assembling by 
their delegates in a congress at Dublin to accomplish it. 

"This rivalry of Ireland is terrible to the ministry; they are sup- 
posed to be at work to sow jealousies and divisions between the Prot- 
estants and Catholics of Ireland." 

English statesmen having set themselves to divide Ireland, the Earl 
of Westmoreland, Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, wrote to Pitt in January 1792 : 

"Conceiving the object of you and I to be * * * how England 
can govern Ireland * * * q country containing one-half as many 
inhabitants as herself and in many respects more advantageously 
situated, I hold the task not to be easy, but that the present frame of 
Irish Government is particularly well calculated for our purpose. That 
frame is a Protestant garrison, in possession of the land, magistracy and 
power of the country holding that property under the tenure of British 
power and supremacy and ready at every instant to crush the rising 
of the conquered." 

In 1798 the Presbyterians of North-East Ulster were as active in pro- 
moting the insurrection of that year as the Catholics of Wexford were, all 
aiming to establish an Irish Bepublic. 

But in portions of the North false rumors were spread by the British 
Government that the Southern rising had a religious, an anti-Protestant, 
motive. Companies of Northern militia were then secured to aid in sup- 
pressing the Southern movement. 

Simultaneously Catholic leaders were disturbed by whispers of atheistic 
doctrines and "French principles" in the Bepublican movement. 

To the Catholic Hierarchy, England's Premier, Pitt, presented May- 
nooth. a training College for priests, which the government endowed in 
the hope of controlHng the national and political views of all its students. 
The Church of England was already fully endowed in Ireland — and as 
fully controlled. 

The Presbyterian Church was approached by Lord Castlereagh with 
"a plan for strengthening the connection between the Government and the 
Presbyterian Synod of LTlster ;" he aimed to prevent ministers of this Church 
from again taking an independent patriotic stand as they did in 1798. 

The plan provided for attractive annual subsidies for all ministers "loy- 
ally disposed" toward British rule in Ireland. Dr. Killen, the Presbyterian 
historian, has recorded the effectiveness of these methods upon the Synod. 

Having secured an entente with the clergy British statesemen then used 
their power over Ireland's economic resources to intensify the work of 
sowing dissension, forecasted by John Adams. 

Tleir policy was checked by the disestablishment of the English Church, 
and by other democratic advances. It has been halted by increased facili- 
ties foi communication between the people and the growing knowledge 
among all Irishmen of the source of their differences. 

[76] 



This alien plant of religious dissension has always been nurtured as a 
mainstay of English influence in Ireland and has always had the support 
of England's adherents there. It has caused unhappiness and friction 
among the working classes of North-East Ulster, but it is an unnatural 
growth and has not destroyed the religious tolerance of the Irish Gael. 

RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE OF THE IRISH NATION 

Every claim that danger or discrimination would accrue to LUster 
from a self-governed Ireland is based on the allegation that a Catholic 
majority in Ireland would use its power against that section of Ulster's popula- 
tion which subscribes to faiths other than the Catholic. 

The entire history of the Irish race refutes this argument. Ample 
evidence concerning this Irish Catholic characteristic of religious tolerance 
is given by English and Protestant historians. 

Protestant historians — Lecky, Leland, Laing, Fox, Sydney Smith, 
Taylor, Buckle and Hallam have recognized this native tolerance, most 
strikingly exemplified perhaps in the Irish Constitution of Kilkenny (1646) 
and again in 1689, when full religious freedom and liberty of conscience were 
guaranteed all Irishmen by enactments framed by Irish Catholics. The 
Irish took this stand in a century when the rest of Europe was torn with 
internecine wars marked by religious intolerance. 

Hon.W. E. H. Lecky, in his History of the Eighteenth Century, Vol. 
II, pp. 389-91, states of the Irish nation: 

"Their original conversion to Christianity was probably accom- 
panied by less violence and bloodshed than that of any equally con- 
siderable nation in Europe; and in spite of the fearful calamities which 
followed the Reformation, it is a memorable fact that not a single 
Protestant sufi'ered for his religion in Ireland during all the period of the 
Marian persecution in England. 

"The treatment of Bedell, a Protestant prelate, during the out- 
break of 1641, and the Act establishing liberty of conscience, passed 
by the Irish Parliament in 1689, in the full flush of the brief Catholic 
ascendancy under James II, exhibit very remarkably this aspect of the 
Irish character; and it was displayed in another form scarcely less 
vividly during the Quaker missions, which began toward the close of 
the Commonwealth and continued with little intermission for two 
generations * * *. 

"The experience of (John) Wesley half a century later was very 
similar * * * and he has more than once in his Journal spoken in 
terms of warm appreciation of the docile and tolerant spirit he almost 
everywhere encountered." 

Rev. H. S. Lunn, an English clergyman and follower of Wesley, in 
reply to fears expressed in his day of Papal persecution in Ireland, stated: 

"He was met everywhere by misrepresentations of the facts of 
Irish history, and by a wilful ignoring of those facts which was equally 
misleading * * * For his own part, it was not without much 
study that he had entered upon this conflict, but as he reviewed the 
history of Ireland he found that the annals of Irish Catholicism, from 
its earliest date, were free from any record of persecution. 



"And in the dark middle Ages, when the EngUsh people were 
persecuting the Jews to extort from them their hidden treasures, once 
again the Irish occupied an unique position amongst European nations, 
and did not engage in such persecution. . 

"But there was one great lesson taught by universal history 
* * * that wherever the power of democratic self-government had 
been extended, a fatal blow had been struck at all persecution." 

The Chief Rabbi of the Jews, speaking at Dublin, Ireland, in 1871, 
stated : 

"He had long been anxious for many reasons to visit this beautiful 
country; and amongst others — because it was the only country in which 
his race had not been persecuted." — Jewish Chronicle, July 21, 1871. 

The cry that the Catholic majority in Ireland would persecute their 
Protestant countrymen is met by these further testimonies of Protestant 
authorities: 

Taylor, in his History of the Civil Wars of Ireland, Vol. I, p. 169, 
states: 

"The restoration of the old religion was effected without violence. 
No persecution of the Protestants was attempted, and several of the 
English, who fled from the furious zeal of Mary's Inquisitors, found a 
safe retreat among the Catholics of Ireland. It is but justice to this 
maligned body to add that on the three occasions of their obtaining the 
upper hand they never injured a single person in life or limb for pro- 
fessing a religion different from their own. They had suffered persecu- 
' tion and learned mercy, as they showed in the reign of Mary, in the 
wars from 1641 to 1648, and during the brief triumph of James II." 

In addition to evidences of the kindness and good will of Catholic 
Ireland toward the English Society of Friends, Wesleyans and Catholics 
when persecuted by their own English countrymen, the Irish Protestant 
historian, Mrs. John R. Green, in "Irish Nationality" dwells upon the wel- 
come given by Catholic Ireland to the German Protestant Palatinates and 
the French Huguenots, both persecuted by their own countrymen. These 
different Protestant sects sought and found refuge in Ireland, among the 
Catholics of the South and still practice the Protestant faith without hin- 
drance or discrimination by their Catholic neighbors. 

Similar evidence is given by Alfred Webb, a Dublin member of the 
Society of Friends, who in Parnell's day received fifty letters from Protes- 
tants in all parts of Ireland replying to his queries concerning Irish Catho- 
licism. The letter of Charles Eason, Manager of an extensive English- 
owned business in Ireland, was typical: 

"* * * J hayg never known an instance of Catholic intolerance 
toward me personally, nor toward the business I have governed, noi 
does my memory recall any case of intolerance from Catholics coming 
under my own knowledge at any time." 

J. A. Fox, instancing the very large number of Protestants who have 
been elected by Catholic constituencies in Ireland, "with anel without the 
protection of the ballot" declares that: 

"* * * to reject such a candidate on account of his religious belief 
when acceptable in all other respects, is a thing unknown in Ireland.' 

[78] 



Today, the Right Hon. Denis Henry, a Catholic Unionist, is elected 
by a Protestant constituency in Ulster and sits in the British Parliament, 
an advocate of parliamentary union with England. 

Today also, Ernest Blythe, a Protestant supporter of the Irish Republic, 
represents an Ulster constituency in the Congress of the Irish Republic, 
while in the south Robert Barton, a Protestant Republican, was elected 
by a Catholic constituency with an overwhelming majority over The 
O'Mahony, a Catholic gentleman and adherent of the so-called "Nationahst" 
party, led by the late John E. Redmond. 

The non-sectarian attitude of the Republican movement in Ireland 
is further illustrated by the new Moderator of the Presbyterian Church, 
in Ireland, Rt. Rev. H. P. Glenn, who in his address to the General Assembly 
of that church on June 7, 1920, in Belfast, stated with reference to recent 
property losses in Ireland: 

"It is a notable fact that nowhere has a hand been raised against 
one of our isolated church buildings nor against a single individual 
Presbyterian, as such, in the South and West." 

George Russell, (A.E.) in his Reply to Rudyard Kipling, writing as 
an Ulsterman of Protestant faith states conclusively : 

"I am a person whose whole being goes into a blaze at the thought 
of oppression of faith, and yet I think my Catholic countrymen in- 
finitely more tolerant than those who hold the faith I was born in. I 
am a heretic judged by their standards, one who has written and made 
public his heresies, and I have never suffered in friendships or found 
my heresies an obstacle in life. I set my knowledge, the knowledge 
of a hfetime, against your ignorance, and I say you have used your 
genius to do Ireland and its people a wrong." 

Almost one-third of all the Protestants in Ireland live outside Ulster. 
These people, living as a minority of about 300,000 in a population of close 
to 2,500,000 Catholics, live contentedly and without fear of persecution as 
their families have lived for many generations. 

There is then evident insincerity in the British statesmen's argument, 
echoed by Belfast supporters, that Ulster's Protestant minority necessitates 
a drastic division of Ireland to save them from the machinations of a Roman 
Catholic majority in all Ireland. 

Under this argument the Protestants of the South would also need to 
be cut off from their countrymen. To be quite consistent it would further 
require the separation of the CathoHc minority of Antrim and Down. 



RELIGIOUS CENSUS OF ULSTER 

An analysis of the religious statistics of Ulster emphasizes th<? artificial 
nature of the ''separation" arguments. 

The British official census of Ulster in 1911 gives the population as 
1,580,242. The Catholics constitute the largest religious body in Ulster: 



[79] 



Catholics 


Denomination 


Members 

690,134 

421,566 

366,171 

48,490 

53,881 


Percent. 
43.6 


Presbyterians.. 


26.6 
23.2 


Methodists 


3.1 


All others 


3.5 








Total 


1,580,242 


100.0 







The Catholic population was 690,134. 

All other denominations were 890,108. 

This constituted a majority of 119, 984 persons of religious bodies other 
than the Catholic. 

This entire majority of Protestants lives in the city of Belfast. 

Outside the city of Belfast there are more Catholics than Protestants 
in the Province of Ulster. 

The religious census by counties in Ulster was: 



County 

Antrim 

Armagh 

Cavan 

Donegal 

Down 

Fermanagh 

Londonderry 

Monaghan '.. . 
Tyrone 

Total 



Catholic 

118,449 
54,147 
74,188 

132,943 
78,946 
34,749 
64,436 
53,341 
78,935 

690,134 



Presby- 
terian 
188,018 
18,962 
2,920 
15,064 
116,971 
1,265 
43,191 
8,635 
26,540 

421,566 



Episco- 
palian 
128,552 
38,867 
12,954 
17,975 
78,695 
21,121 
27,080 
8,644 
32,283 

366,171 



Methodist 

20,377 

5,010 

768 

1,697 

11,497 

3,995 

1,939 

389 

2.818 

18,490 



One phase of English propaganda with regard to Ulster and Ireland 
vaguely charges that the country is "priest-ridden." 
The following statistics disprove that theory: 



Denomination 
Catholics 


Percent. 

73.86 

13.13 

10.04 

1.42 

1.55 


Members 

3,242,670 

576,611 

440,525 

62,382 

58,031 


Clergy- 
men 
3,924 
1,575 
667 
244 
171 


Ratio to 
members 
1 to 826 


Episcopalians.. 

Presbyterians 

Methodists 

All others 


1 to 366 
1 to 660 
1 to 255 
1 to 397 







[80] 



[VI] (a) 

ENGLISH RUTHLESSNESS IN IRELAND IN 
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 

''Every horror and every shame thai could disgrace the relations between a 
strong country and a weak one is written upon almost every page of the history 
of our dealings with Ireland.'" (Gladstone). 

That England's worst barbarities of the past are being continued in 
Ireland today is evidenced by the following summaiies. They indicate 
cold-blooded murders of unarmed civilians, the "shooting-up," sacking and 
burning of whole towns and villages, the deliberate destruction of the hard- 
earned fruits of the people's industry — methods openly condoned and 
secretly instigated, by which the British Government is today endeavoring 
to crush into submission or to exasperate into madness a spirited, but in- 
nocent people— this when the echoes of the cries of Belgium have hardly 
died away, and when the war supposed to have been fought to secure for- 
ever the rights of small nations has scarcely ended. 

This regime of licensed savagery, of nightly raids and punitive expedi- 
tions in which men, women and children indiscriminately suffer, is but 
super-imposed upon the earlier system of fomentation of rehgious animosi- 
ties, abrogation of civil law, suspension of habeas corpus and of trial by 
jury ; imprisonments and deportation without any form of trial, total suppres- 
sion of free speech and free assembly, and the worse than war-censorship 
of the press, through the destruction of machinery and the confiscation of 
literature, 

ENGLISH ATROCITIES IN IRELAND, FROM 
JANUARY 1. 1919 TO OCTORER 12, 1920 

1920 Total 

(to Oct (for 21 

1919 12) mos.) 

Murders* 8 69 77 

Towns sacked and burned 4 98 102 

Deportations _ 20 328 t348 

Armed assaults on unarmed civiHans 476 1,128 1,604 

Raids on private houses, burglaries, robberies, etc. 13,782 24,938 38,720 

Arrests and imprisonments for patriotic activities... 959 4,023 4,982 

Creameries and manufacturing plants destroyed. 35 35 

Proclamations and suppressions 335 44 t379 

Totals.. 15,584 30,663 46,247 

*Thesc do not include Republicans who have been killed in armed conflicts with the 
British forces. 

tTo April, 1920. 

[81] 



CRIMES BY BRITISH ARMED FORCES TO APRIL 20, 1920 

Details of crimes committed in Ireland by British armed forces in the 
past two years, including the findings of over 100 public inquiries held b^ 
the civil authorities together with verdicts of coroners' juries, are containec 
in the Irish Bulletin, an official record made by the Irish Government 
in the numbers and volumes specified here. 

Every charge contained in this official record is based upon an accumu 
lation of evidence secured from eye-witnesses and official British documents 
The charges made against the British Government comprise: 

1. Arresting and imprisoning without charge or trial, or with trial or 
invented charges, the elected representatives of the Irish people; 

Vol. I. Nos. 24, 36, 40, 57, 62, 81, 83, 97, 114. 
Vol. II. Nos. 2, 27, 42, 44, 72. 
Vol. III. Nos. 9, 10. 

2. Inciting and encouraging its armed forces to murder Irish civilians 

Vol. I. Nos. 33, 37, 58, 60, 65, 66, 67, 72, 93, 98, 106, 107, 113. 

Vol. II. Nos. 3, 5, 25, 28, 36, 43, 48, 49, 50, 55, 56, 57, 60, 62, 66, 74, 79, 84. 

Vol. III. Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 14, 15. 

3. Wilfully shielding these murderers and rewarding them by promo 
tion, high office and increased pay; 

Vol. I. Nos. 18, 61, 98. 

Vol. II. Nos. 6, 9, 48, 50, 55, 57, 60, 62, 63, 66, 74, 79, 84. 

Vol. III. Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 14. 

4. Conniving at and encouraging the sacking of Irish towns, the bomb 
ing, burning and wrecking of Irish homes, the destruction of the factorie 
and industries of the Irish people by its armed forces; 

Vol. I. Nos. 4, 12, 50, 77, 86, 93, 115. 

Vol. II. Nos. 3, 10, 15, 20, 21, 28, 40, 43, 49, 55, .57, 60, 61, 71, 79, 83. 

Vol. III. Nos. 1, 5, 6, 9, 10, 14. 

5. Inciting and encouraging its armed forces to commit savage assault 
upon innocent and inoffensive Irish citizens; 

Vol. I. Nos. 66, 70, 75, 90, 93, 111. 

Vol. II. Nos. 9, 12, 48, 50, 55, 62, 63, 66, 79. 84. 

Vol. III. Nos. 2, 3, 6, 8, 10, 13, 14. 

6. Having among its high officials in Ireland those whom it knows t 
have directed the assassination of Irish citizens, and to be planning th 
assassination of others ; 

Vol. III. Nos. 8, 9, 14. 

7. Wilfully endeavoring to drive the Irish people into armed insurrec 
tion: 

Vol. I. Nos. 17, 23, 24, 27, 30, 45, 59, 61, 62, 67, 86, 91, 92, 95. 
Vol. II. Nos. 3, 4, 9, 55, 63, 66, 74, 79, 84. 
Vol. III. Nos. 6, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15. 

[82] 



8. Employing in its service men whom it knows to be perjurers and 
assassins; 

Vol. I. Nos. 112, 113. 

Vol. II. Nos. 9, 12, 48, 50, 55, 62, 63, 66, 79, 84. 

Vol. III. Nos. 2, 3, 6, 8, 10, 13, 14. 

9. Issuing deliberately falsified official reports; 

Vol. I. Nos. 60, 65, 93, 95, 98, 103, 107, 110, 114. 
Vol. II. Nos. 1, 4, 16, 17, 20, 22, 24, 26, 56, 81, 83, 84. 
Vol. III. Nos. 3, 6, 8, 9, 14. 

10. Conniving at the looting of property of Irish citizens by its armed 
forces ; 

Vol. I. Nos. 6, 50, 77, 87, 92, 100. 

Vol, II. Nos. 3, 20, 43, 44, 49, 55, 62, 83. 

Vol. III. Nos. 1, 6. 

11. Suppressing National organizations in Ireland which represent 83 
per cent of the Irish people ; 

Vol. I. Nos. 13, 37, 64, 78, 81, 109, 114. 
Vol. II. Nos. 27, 42, 44, 72. 
Vol. III. No. 12. 

12. Preventing by threats the Irish Press from exposing its terrorist 
regime in Ireland ; 

Vol. I. Nos. 15, 39, 73. 
Vol. II. Nos. 5, 44. 
Vol. III. Nos. 4, 10. 

13. Suppressing organized National effort made to improve Ireland's 
economic position, and arresting and imprisoning men who are engaged 
upon this work; 

Vol. I. Nos. 14, 24, 25, 28, 32, 38, 45, 49, 52, 76, 89. 
Vol. II. Nos. 44, 46, 71. 
Vol. III. No. 5. 

14. Deliberately provoking sectarian conflicts in Ireland; 

Vol. I. Nos. 38, 39. 

Vol. II. Nos. 37, 39, 58, 59, 61, o7. 

15. Creating in Ireland an armed police force which has no civil duties, 
but whose function is to suppress by force the National organizations of the 
people; 

Vol. I. Nos. 24, 27, 29, 31. 55, 59, 62, 90, 94, 114. 

Vol. II. Nos. 16, 20, 21, 40, 48, 49, 53, 55, 57, 59, 62, 69, 73, 82, 83, 84. 

Vol. III. Nos. 1, 2, 3, 6, 12, 14, 15. 

16. Endeavoring to stamp out the use of the Irish language by the 
Irish people; 



Vol. I. Nos. 20, 29, 34, 51, 97. 
Vol. II. Nos. 27, 31, 37, 44. 



[83] 



17. Shameful inequality in the administration of its own law against 
offenders who support it politically and offenders who oppose it; 

Vol. I. Nos. 19, 38, 51, 81, 107. 
Vol. II. Nos. 18, 68. 

18. Charging the Sinn Fein movement with outrages which it knows 
never to have occurred, or to have been committed by its own agents and 
supporters; 

Vol. I. Nos. 17, 33, 49, 60, 72, 108, 115. 
Vol. II. Nos. 6, 10, 14, 17, 22. 

19. Using its terrorist weapons against Irish women and children; 

Vol. I. Nos. 30, 33, 58, 59, 74, 79, 82, 88, 92, 97, 100, 101. 
Vol. II. Nos. 49, 74, 79. 
Vol. III. Nos. 3, 5, 6, 14, 15. 

20. Maltreating and murdering its political prisoners; 

Vol. I. Nos. 61, 103, 114. 

Vol. II. Nos. 4, 7, 48, 59, 69, 74, 75, 84. 

Vol. III. Nos. 1, 3. 

21. Instructing its aimed agents to shoot Irishmen whom they have 
taken into custody ; 

Vol. 1. Nos. 1, 9, 54, 75, 80. 

22. Wilfully endeavoring to stamp out the Irish people's own organiza- 
tion for the preservation of public order and the suppression of crime; 

Vol. I. Nos. 40, 55, 61, 63, 109. 

Vol. II. Nos. 8, 27. 32, 37, 51, 53, 78, 82. 

23. Having used its armed forces in Ireland against the Republican 
movement when the General Election was in progress in December 1918; 
when the Municipal Council Elections were in progress in January 1920; 
and when the County and Rural Council Elections were in progress in June 
1920; 

Vol. I. Nos. 44, 47, 99. 
Vol. II. Nos. 6, 9, 11, 42. 

24. Endeavoring to impose by force an authority upon the Irish people 
which is rejected by all classes of that people and by hundreds of its own 
officials. 

Vol. I. Nos. 20, 29, 34, 51, 97. 

Vol. II. Nos. 2, 25, 30. 34, 40, 47, 48, 50, 51, 52, 54, 56, 64, 65. 76, 

Vol. III. No. 11. 



CRIMES OF MURDER, ASSAULT AND RORBERY 

The Irish Rulletin, the official record previously referred to, compiled 
and pubhshed in No. 3, Volume 2, the following list of acts of English 
aggression in Ireland. The outrages of this period— from January 1, 1919, 
to April 30, 1920 — are typical of those of any period of similar length in the 
past three years: 

[«-l] 



1919 

Patrick Gavin shot dead by soldiers at the Curragh Camp. 

Robert Byrne shot dead by police in Limerick Hospital. 

Ml, Walsh shot dead by police at Dungarvan, Co. Waterford. 

Two men attacked and shot by police at Longford, Co. Longford. 

Mathew Murphy, Dundalk, shot dead by soldiers at Dundalk. 

Michael Rice (aged 60) and his son Martin attacked in their 

house and shot hj police. 

Patrick Studdert, Kilkee, shot dead by soldiers. 

Francis Murphy, Glan, Co. Clare, (aged 15) shot dead by 

.soldiers who fired into his father's house at midnight. 

Fermoy, Co. Cork, sacked by soldiers. 

Boy shot at Banbridge, Co. Down, by police. 

Kinsale, Co. Cork, sacked by soldiers. 

Cork City partially sacked by soldiers. 

Motorists shot by police at Sligo for refusing to lialt. 

Civilians shot at Tipperary by police. 

Laurence Kennedy murdered by soldiers at Phoenix Park, Dublin. 

1920 

Jan. 6. Dr. Keane, Ennistymon, Co. Clare, shot by police while on his 
medical rounds. 

Jan. 19. Civilians at Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford shot by police. 

Jan. 20. Ml. Darcy, Cooraclare, Co. Clare, drowned while police held off 
would-be rescuers. 

Jan. 22. Whole town of Thurles wrecked by soldiers. 

Feb. 4. Man and girl shot dead in Limerick by soldiers and police. 

Feb. 14. James O'Brien shot dead at Rathdrum by police. 

Feb. 16. John Heaphy shot by police at Ballylongford, Co. Kerry. 

Feb. 17. Pedestrians held up at the point of the bayonet by soldiers at 
Thurles, and the contents of their pockets stolen. 

Feb. 20. Mrs. M. J. Kelly, shopkeeper, 10 Wellington Place, Dublin, 
savagely assaulted and robbed by soldiers. 

Feb. 23. J. J. Kinsella shot at on the South Circular Road, Dublin, by a 
party of soldiers. 

Feb. 25. Philip Maher, Turtulle, Co. Tipperary, attacked by police on the 
public highway and beaten with the butt-ends of their rifles. 

Feb. 25. Railway employee named Kennedy shot at by a patrol of soldiers 
near Thurles. Kennedy was neither halted nor challenged. 

Feb. 25. Three men, named Cullanan, Burke and MacCarthy were shot 
at by police from cover while on their way to their homes, Leugh, 
Co. Tipperary. 

Feb. 27. Raiding parties of troops forced an entry into the late Head- 
quarters at 3, 6 and 76, Harcourt Street, Dublin of the Sinn 
Fein Bank, the Sinn Fein Organization and the Republican 
Government of Ireland respectively, and systematically wrecked 
every room in these houses. In the Sinn Fein Bank the safe 
was forced and £1040 stolen. 

Mar. 1. The town of Thurles was paitially wrecked by soldiers accom- 
panied by their officer. 

Mar. 2. Townspeople of Thurles attacked by police who beat them with 
the butt-ends of their rifles. 

[85] 



Mar. 3. Spectators of daylight military raids in Dublin were attacked by 
the troops who dispersed them with the butt-ends of their rifles. 

Mar. 5. Three young men passing the police barracks at Holycross, Co. 
Tipperary were abused and stoned by police. 

Mar. 5. The National Monuments at Thurles, Co. Tipperary, were dis- 
figured by police and soldiers. 

Mar. 6. Property stolen from Mrs. Lynch, Richmond Road, Dublin by 
soldiers who raided her house. 

Mar. 7. Thurles, Co. Tipperary, again wrecked by soldiers. 

Mar. 12. Sinn Fein Clubs and the residences of prominent Republicans 
broken into and completely wrecked by police at Cork. Volleys 
fired in the public street after midnight at shop windows and 
into private houses. 

Mar. 13. Miss Cotter, Abbey Street, Cork, shot at by police while hasten- 
ing at night to call a priest to her dying aunt. 

Mar. 16. Spectators of military raids upon the residences of Republicans 
at Monaghan were attacked by troops. 

Mar. 19. Attempted murder of Alderman Prof^'ssor Stockley, Sinn Fein 
leader, Cork. 

Mar. 19. Police fired at crowds who endeavored to enter the Kilkenny 
Theatre to attend a performance of the play, "The Parnellite." 

IVIar. 20. Lord Mayor of Cork murdered by police who broke into his house 
at the dead of the night. 

Mar. 21. Engine driver named Howe when passing the Thurles Police 
Barracks was attacked by police who rushed from the Barracks 
and knocking him down robbed him. 

Mar. 22. Ellen Hendrick, aged 18 years, and Michael Cullen, aged 23, 
were shot dead by soldiers who assaulted pedestrians and smashed 
shop windows in a riotous parade through the streets of Dublin. 

Mar. 29. Military raiding the house of S. Byrne, T. C. looted jewellry. 

Mar. 29. J. MacCarthy. brother of M. MacCarthy, Sinn Fein leader, 
Thurles, was murdered by men in the uniforms of police who 
broke into his house at the dead of the night. 

Mar. 30. T. Dwyer, prominent Republican was murdered by police at 
The Ragg. Co. Tipperary, who broke into his house at the dead 
of the night. 

Military raiding the house of T. Longmore, Kingstown, Co. 
Dublin, looted it. 

Military raiding the Republican Temperance Bar, Dublin, fired 
into houses in O'Connell Street and attacked spectators with the 
bayonet. 

Military raiding the residence of Frank Foy, 33, Carrysfort 
Avenue, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, looted it. 

Military raiding the residence of Mr. O'Flanagan, 14a Wexford 
Street, Dublin, looted it. 

Soldiers being brought to reinforce the guards at Mountjoy Jail 
in which Sinn Fein prisoners were dying, slashed with their bayo- 
nets at the crowd outside the jail as they drove through them. 

Apr. 14. Police and Military shot dead three civihans at Miltown-Malbay, 
Co. Clare, who were celebrating the release of Mountjoy prisoners 
by singing round a lighted tar-barrel. Nine others were seriously 
wounded. 

[86] 



Apr. 


3. 


Apr. 


6. 


Apr. 


9. 


Apr. 


10. 


Apr. 


14. 



At Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, a similar demonstration by civilians 
was attacked by police who used their rifle biitts and bayonets 
upon the people. 

The residence of P. Ryan, Kilcommon, Co. Tippejrary, was 
broken into by police who called for the male members of the 
family saying "We will shoot every Sinn Feiner we meet." 
At Reiska, Co. Tipperary, the houses of several residents were 
fired into by police. Eleven bullets entered the residence of 
J. O'Brien, Irish teacher. And old age pensioner passing along 
the road at some distance was deliberately fired upon by one of 
the police. The shot went wide. The policeman was taking a 
second shot when his rifle was knocked up by a comrade who 
said "We have done enough." 

At Holycross, Co. Tipperary, a policeman entered the local 
smithy and drawing his revolver ordered the smith to mend his 
bicycle free of charge. He rode away announcing that he would 
murder the first Sinn Feiner who dared to say a word to him. 
Thomas Mulhofland, a prominent Sinn Feiner was shot dead by 
police in John Street, Dundalk. 

Immediately after the Coroner's Jury, inquiring into the death 
of Thomas Dwyer, The Ragg, Thurles, Co. Tipperary, had 
returned a verdict of murder against the police, a body of Royal 
Irish Constabulary in uniform drove about the townlands adja- 
cent to Thurles shooting at the passers by. At the Ragg they 
halted outside the house of the Dwyers and fired several ghots 
into it, wounding John Brouder who was at his tea. 
Nine police suddenly appeared in the streets of Kilcommon, Co. 
Tipperary, and fired volleys at passers by and into the houses of 
the inhabitants. After firing for half an hour they broke the 
windows of the houses with heavy stones, calling at the same 
time upon the men to come out to be shot. 
Patrick Dowling was shot dead in the streets of Arklow by riotous 
soldiers. 

Shops in Limerick City partially wrecked by riotous soldiers; 
shots were fired at pedestrians and passers by were bayonetted. 
At Fermoy, Co. Cork, at 12 noon soldiers fired shots down the 
streets killing a horse. 

INDICTMENT IN CORONER'S VERDICTS 

The details of the outrages listed in the preceding section of this Appen- 
dix, and of the other outrages since May, 1916, extending into many volumes 
are necessarily not reproduced here. But the recent death of Terence 
MacSwiney, Lord Mayor of Cork, suggests the selection of the Coroner's 
findings on the death of his predecessor in office, Thomas MacCurtain, and 
on the death of Thomas Ashe, who in a protest similar to that of Mayor 
MacSwiney, against being treated as a criminal, refused food and died from 
the effects of forcible feeding by the British prison authorities. 

These findings and over ninety others proceeding from juries, summoned 
by British officials, have clearly indicated the culpability of British officials 
in these murders, with the result that to avoid the consequent exposures, 
coroner's juries are no longer summoned by the British, being superseded 
by secret miUtary inquisition — where verdicts in consonance with the aims 
of the British Executive are invariably returned. 

[87] 



The following was the verdict of the Coroner's jury upon the death of 
Thomas MacCurtain, Lord Mayor of Cork, who was assassinated in his 
own home shortly after he assumed office in March, 1920. 

We find that the late Alderman Thomas MacCurtain, Lord Mayor 
of Cork, died from shock and hemorrhage caused by bullet wounds; 
that he was wilfully murdered under circumstances of the most callous 
brutality; that the murder was organized and carried out by the Royal 
Irish Constabulary, officially directed by the British Government, and 
we return a verdict of wilful murder against David Lloyd George, 
Prime Minister of England ; Lord French, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland ; 
Ian MacPherson, late Chief Secretary for Ireland; Acting Inspector- 
General Smith, of the Royal Irish Constabulary; Divisional Inspector 
Clayton, of the Royal Irish Constabulary; District Inspector Swanzy, 
and some unknown members of the Royal Irish Constabulary." 

Thomas Ashe, leader of the first historic group of hunger-strikers, died 
on September 25, 1917. In the post-mortem examination his throat and 
neck showed bruises and wounds. The coroner's verdict read: 

"We find that Thomas Ashe according to the medical evidence of 
Professor McWeeney, Sir Arthur Chance and Sir Thomas Myles, died 
of heart failure and congestion of the lungs on the 25th of September, 
1917, caused by the punishment of taking away from his cell in Mount- 
joy Jail the bed, bedding and boots and being left to lie on the cold 
floor for fifty hours, then subjected to forcible feeding in his weak con- 
dition after a hunger-strike of five or six days. * * * That the 
hunger strike was directed against the inhuman punishment inflicted 
and as a protest against the men being treated as criminals when 
demanding to be treated as political prisoners." 

POLICE AND MAGISTRATES IN IRELAND RESIGN 

•As a protest against British policy and the conduct of the British forces 
in Ireland 515 justices of the peace have resigned. The reason determining 
their action is typified by that given in the case of the Cavan (Ulster) justices 
July 11, 1920. 

"We wish no longer to be associated with an Executive whose 
actions are subversive of equity and justice and repugnant to the 
feelings and sentiments of the vast majority of our fellow-countrymen." 

Sir Henry Grattan Belle w, in tendering his resignation to the British 
Lord Chancellor, August 11, 1920, wrote: 

"I hope my colleagues will follow my example so that the wrecking 
of Irish towns and the ruin of Irish industry may be proceeded with 
without any camouflage or appearance of approval by Irishmen in the 
sabotage of their own country." 

IRISH TOWNS SACKED AND RAVAGED 

The sacking of Irish towns has been in progress for over a year. For 
twelve months it has been the policy of the British Government, by encour- 
aging wholesale sabotage by its troops and police, to endeavor to crush the 
National movement for Irish independence. No eff'ort has been made by 
the British Military Government in Ireland either to prevent these sackings 
or to punish its armed forces engaged in them. 

[88] 



These towns have completely or partially fallen to rifle fire, bombs, and 
incendiary torches. The term "shot-up" used in the list indicates that in 
the place named British troops, without warning, fired along the streets 
and into the residences of prominent Republicans. 

1919 
Sept. 9. Fermoy, Co. Cork, sacked by troops. 
Nov. 6. Kinsale, Co. Cork, partially sacked by troops. 
Nov. 12. Cork City, partially sacked by troops. 

1920 

22. Thurles, Co. Tipperary, sacked by troops. 

27. Three houses in Dublin wrecked by troops. 

1. Thurles, Co. Tipperary, partially wrecked by troops. 

7. Several houses in Thurles, Co. Tipperary, wrecked by troops. 

12. Many houses in Cork City wrecked by police. 
22. Many shop windows in Dublin wrecked by troops. 
17. Bouladuff, Co. Tipperary, "shot-up" by police. 

26. Kilcommon, Co. Tipperary, partially wrecked by police. 

27. Many houses in Limerick City wrecked by troops. 
1. Limerick City "shot-up" by police. 

13. Houses at Thurles, Co. Tipperary, fired and bombed by poHce. 
Houses at Bantry, Co. Cork, wrecked by police. 
Limerick City "shot-up" by pohce. 
Kilcommon, Co. Tipperary, "shot-up" by police. 
Kilmallock, Co. Limerick, sacked by police. 
Midleton, Co. Cork, "shot-up" by troops. 
Limerick City "shot-up" by police. 
Limerick City again "shot-up" by police. 
Bantry, Co. Cork, partially sacked by police. 
Houses in Limerick City wrecked by police. 
Many houses at Bantry, Co. Cork, wrecked and fired by police. 
Fermoy, Co. Cork, sacked by troops. 
Lismore, Co. Waterford, sacked by troops. 

Many houses at Newcastle-West, Co. Limerick wrecked and fired 
by police. 

Limerick City partially sacked by police. 
Kilcommon, Co. Tipperary, "shot-up" by police. 
Newspaper offices at Limerick City wrecked and fired by police. 
Union Hall, Co. Cork, "shot-up" by police. 
Midleton, Co. Cork, "shot-up" by troops. 

Residence at Ballylanders, Co. Limerick, bombed and wrecked 
by police. 

Tralee, Co. Kerry, partially sacked by police. 
Houses at Arklow, Co. Wicklow, bombed and wrecked by police. 
Galbally, Co. Limerick, "shot-up" by police. 
Cork City "shot-up" by pohce. 
Cork City "shot-up" by police. 
Bafiagh, Co. Roscommon, partially sacked by police. 
Emly, Co. Limerick, "shot-up" by police. Creamery and houses 
wrecked. 

Houses at Limerick City wrecked and burned by police. 
National Foresters Hall at Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford wrecked 

by police. 

[89] 



July 


1. 


July 


3. 


July 


5. 


July 


6. 


July 


15. 


July 


16. 


July 


16. 


July 


17. 


July 


18. 


July 


16. 


July 


19. 


July 


20. 


July 


20. 



July 21. Houses at Limerick City bombed and wrecked by police. 

July 22. Ballina, Co. Mayo, "shot-up" by police. 

July 22. Leap, Co. Cork, sacked by police. 

July 23. Caltra, Co. Galway, partially sacked by police. 

July 30. Upperchurch, Co. Tipperary, partially sacked by police. 

July 3L Tipperary Town paitially sacked by troops. 

July 3L Business premises at Cork City sacked by troops. 

Aug. 2. Many houses at Castlerea, Co. Roscommon, partially wrecked by 

police. 

Aug. 5. Doon, Co. Limerick, sacked by troops. 

Aug. 6. Rosegreen, Co. Tipperary, "shot-up" by police. 

Aug. 7. Tralee, Co. Kerry, "shot-up" by police. 

Aug. 8. Houses at Kildorrery, Co. Cork, wrecked and looted by police. 

Aug. 12. Sinn Fein Hall at Enniscorthy, wrecked by police. 

Aug. 12. Swords, Co. Dublin "shot-up" by troops. 

Aug. 13. Limerick City "shot-up" by pohce. 

Aug. 14. Tralee, Co. Kerry, "shot-up" by troops and police. 

Aug. 15. Limerick City partially wrecked by police. 

Aug. 16. Templemore, Co. Tipperary, partially sacked by police. 

Aug. 17. Creameries at Castleiny, Loughmore and Killea, Co. Tipperary, 

destroyed by police. 

Aug. 19. Bantry, Co. Cork, "shot-up" by police. 

Aug. 21. Oranmore, Co. Galway, sacked by police. 

Aug. 23. Glengariffe, Co. Cork, "shot-up" by police. 

Aug. 24. Several houses at Dundalk, Co. Lotuh, wrecked by troops. 

Aug. 25. Kill, Co. Waterford, wrecked by police. 

Aug. 26. Creamery at Knocklong, Co. Limerick, destroyed by police. 

Aug. 26. Shanagolden, Co. Limerick, partially sacked by police. 

Aug. 26. Naas, Co. Kildare, "shot-up" by police. 

Aug. 27. Queenstown, Co. Cork, sacked by troops. 

Sept. 1. Ballaghadereen, Co. Mayo, sacked by police. 

Sept. 2. Inniscarra, Co. Cork, partially sacked by police. 

Sept. 10. Tullow, Co. Carlow, sacked by police. 

Sept. 17. Galway City "shot-up" and bombed by police. 

Sept. 18. Several houses wrecked and fired by police in Co. Limerick. 

Sept. 19. Several houses at Salthill, Co. Galway, wrecked and fired by 

police. 

Sept. 20. Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim, partially sacked by police. 

Sept. 20. Tuam, Co. Galway, "shop-up" by police. 

Sept. 20. Balbriggan, Co. Dubhn, sacked by police. 

Sept. 21. Balbriggan, Co. Dubhn, "shot-up" by poHce. 

Sept. 22. Drumshambo, Co. Leitrim, partially sacked by police. 

Sept. 22. Houses at Tuam, Co. Galway and Galway City wrecked by 

police. 

Sept. 22. Ennistymon, Co. Clare, sacked by police. 

Sept. 22. Lahinch, Co. Clare, sacked by police. 

Sept. 22. Miltown Malbay, Co. Clare, sacked by police. 

Sept. 22. Houses at Galway wrecked and looted by police. 

Sept. 24. Newspaper offices and houses at (jalway City bombed and 

wrecked by police. 

Sept. 24. Balhnamore, Co. Leitrim, "shot-up" by police. 

Sept. 25. Several houses at Athlone, Co. Westmeath, wrecked. 

Sept. 25. Houses wrecked at Killorghn, Co. Kerry, by police. 

Sept. 27. Trim, Co. Meath, sacked by police. 

[90] 



[VI] (b) 

A CENTURY OF COERCION 

The Coercion Act of 1920, which follows marks the climax of England's 
coercive legislation against Irish liberties: 

England's Coercion Act of 1920 

A BILL INTITULED 

An Act to Make Provision for the Restoration and Maintenance 
OF Order in Ireland. 

Be it Enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and 
consent of the Lords Spiritual and TemporeJ, and Commons, in this present Parliament 
assembled and by the authority of the same, as follows: 

1. — (1) W here it appears to His Majesty in Council that, owing to the existence of a 
state of disorder in Ireland the ordinary law is inadequate for the prevention and punish- 
ment of crime or the maintenance of order, His Majesty in Council may issue regulations 
under the Defense of the Realm Consolidation Act, 1914, (hereinafter referred to as the 
principal Act) for securing the restoration and maintenance of order in Ireland, and as to 
the powers and duties for that purpose of the Lord Lieutenant and the Chief Secretary and 
of members of his Majesty's forces and other persons acting on his Majesty's behalf and in 
particular regulations for the special purposes hereinafter mentioned : 

It is provided that all regulations so made shall be laid before both Houses of 
Parliament as soon as may be after they are made, and if an address is presented to 
His Majesty by either House within the next fourteen days during the session of 
Parliament, after any such regulation is laid before it, praying that the regulation may 
be annulled, his Majesty may annul the regulation and it shall thenceforth be void, 
without prejudice to the validity of anything done thereunder, or to the power of mak- 
ing a new regulation, and the regulations shall not be deemed to be statutory rules 
within the meaning of Section One of the Rules Publication Act, 1893. 

(2). The provisions of the principal Act with respect to the trial by court-martial 
or courts of summary jurisdiction and pimishment of persons committing offences 
against the Defence of the Realm Regulations, shall extend to the trial of persons 
alleged to have committed, and the punishment on conviction of persons who have 
committed crimes in Ireland, whether before or after the passing of this Act, including 
persons committed for trial or against whom indictment have been found so, however, 
that — 

(a) Any crime when so tried shall be punishable with the punishment assigned 
to the crime by statute or common law: 

(6) A court-martial when trying a person charged with a crime punishable 
by death shall include as a member of the court one person (who need not be an 
officer, or, if an officer, need not possess such qualifications as is mefttioned in 
subsection [3J of section 18 of the Army Act) nominated by the Lord Lieutenant, 
being a person certified by the Lord Chancellor of Ireland or the I>ord Chief 
Justice of England to be a person of legal knowledge and experience; 

and regulations under the Principal Act may be made accordingly. 

(3) Regulations so made may also — 

(a) Provide that a court of summary jurisdiction, when trying a person 
charged with a crime or with an ofl'ense against the regulations or when hearing 
and determining any apphcation with respect to a recognizance, shall, except 
in the Dubhn MetropoUtan poUce district, be constituted of two or more resident 
magistrates, and that a court of quarter sessions, when hearing and determining 
an appeal against a conviction of a court of summary jurisdiction for any such 
crime or oflence, or against an order made on any such application shall be 
constituted of the recorder or county court judge sitting alone; 



[91] 



(6) Confer on a court-martial the powers and jurisdiction exerciseable by 
justices or any other civil court for binding persons to keep the peace or be of 
good behavior, for estreating and enforcing recognizances, and for compelling 
persons to give evidence and to produce documents before the court; 

(c) Confer on persons authorized to summon witnesses before a court-martial 
the power of issuing warrants for compelling persons to attend as witnesses, and 
any warrant so issued shall have the like effect and be executed in a like manner 
as if issued by a justice or court of summary jurisdiction having jurisdiction in the 
place in which it is executed; 

(d) Authorize the imposition by courts-martial of fines in addition to or in 
substitution for any other punishments for offences against the regulations as 
well as for crimes, and provide for the manner in which such fines are to be en- 
forced; 

(e) Authorize the conveyance to and detention in any of His Majesty's 
prisons in any part of the United Kingdom of any persons upon whom a sentence 
of imprisonment has been passed in Ireland, whether before or after the passing 
of this Act; 

(/) Provide for any of the duties of a coroner and coroner's jury being per- 
formed by a court of inquiry constituted under the Army Act instead of by the 
coroner and jury; 

(g) Provide that where the Court house or other building in which any court 
is usually held, has been destroyed or rendered unfit or is otherwise unavailable 
for the purpose, the court may be held in such other court house or building as 
may be directed by the Lord Lieutenant; 

(h) Authorize the trial without a jury of any action, counter claim, civil bill 
issue, cause or matter in the High Court or a county Court in Ireland which, 
apart from this provision, would be triable with a jury; 

({') Provide for the retention of sums payable to any local authority from the 
Local Taxation (Ireland) Account, or from any Parliamentary grant, or from 
any fund administered by any Government department or public body where the 
local authority has in any respect refused or failed to perform its duties, or for 
the purpose of discharging amounts awarded against the local authority in respect 
of compensation for criminal injuries or other liabilities of the local authority and 
for the application of the sums so retained in or towards the purpose aforesaid. 

(4) Any such regulations may apply either generally to the whole of Ireland or to 
any part thereof, and may be issued at any time, whether before or after the termina- 
tion of the present war, and the principal Act shall continue in force so far as may be 
necessary for that purpose, and the regulations may contain such incidental, supple- 
mental, and consequential provisions as may be necessary for carrying out the purposes 
of this Act, and shall have effect as if enacted in this Act. 

(5) Section two of the Defence of the Realm (Amendment) Act, 1915, shall apply 
to proceedings before a court-martial in respect of a crime or an offence against t he 
regulations, but save as aforesaid that Act shall not apply. 

(6) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires: 

The expression "crime" means any treason, treason-felony, felony, mis- 
demeanor, or other offence punishable, whether on indictment or on summary 
flonviction by imprisonment or by any greater punishment other than offen(-es 
against the Defence of the Realm Regulations: 

The expression "person committed for trial" shall include a person who has 
entered into a recognizance conditioned to appear and plead to an indictment or 
to take his trial upon any criminal charge, or who has been committed to prison' 
there to await his trial for any crime. 

2. This Act may be cited as the Restoration of Order in Ireland Act, 1920. 



[92] 



This most recent act of coercion is but an intensified form of earlier 
acts in suppression of public and personal liberty. A partial list follows: 



Date. 


Title of Act. 


Chap. 


Alleged Purpose of Act. 


Remarks. 


1801 


41 Geo. Ill- -.- 


61 


Suppression of Rebellion 


This was the in- 


1801 


41 Geo. Ill 


104 


do. 


auguration of 
the Union. 


1802-3 


43 Geo. Ill 


116 


Suspension of the Habeas Corpus* 
Suppression of Rebellion. 
Suspension of the Habeas Corpus. 
Suppression of Rebellion. 
Peace Preservation Act 


1802-3 


43 Geo. Ill - 


117 




1803-1 


44 Geo III 


8 




1803-1 


44 Geo. Ill 


9 




1803-4 


44 Geo. Ill 


90 


To restrict the 








possession of 


1805 


45 Geo. Ill 


4 


Suspension of Habeas Corpus. 
Peace Preservation Act.. - 


arms. 


1806-7 


47 Geo. Ill 


8 


To restrict pos- 


1807 


47 Geo. Ill 


54 

109 

91 

78 


do 


session of arms 


1810 


50 Geo. Ill- 


do..... 


do. 


1812 


52 Geo. Ill 


do 


do. 


1813 


53 Geo. Ill 


do 


do. 


1813-14 


54 Geo. Ill - 


33 


Peace Preservation Act. 




1813-14 


54 Geo. Ill 


180 


To prevent unlawful combinations 
To prevent aggravated assaults, 
do. 




1813-14 


54 Geo. Ill 


181 




1814-15 


55 Geo. III. 


88 




1817 


57 Geo. Ill 


50 


Peace Preservation Act 


Castlereagh legis- 


1820 


1 Geo. IV -. 


47 


To restrict the use or possession 


lation. 








of arms. 




1821 


3 Geo. IV 


4 
14 


do. 
do. 




1829 


do 




1823 


4 Geo. IV 


58 


To deal with insurrections, etc. 




1821 


5 Geo. IV 


105 
1 


do. 
To deal with dangerous assemhhes. 




1829 


11 Geo. IV 




1830 


11 Geo. IV 


44 


To restrict the use of firearms. 




1831 


1 and 2 Wni. IV 


47 


do. 




1831-2 


2 and 3 Wni. IV 


70 


do. 




1833 


3 and 4 Wm. IV 


4 


To deal with local disturbances. 


This was to deal 


1835 


5 and 6 Wm. IV. -. 


48 


Peace Preservation Act. 


with the dis- 


1836 


6 and 7 Wm. IV 


39 


Arms and gunpowder restrictions. 


turbances aris- 


1837-8 


1 and 2 Victoria 


71 


do. 


ing out of the 7 


1839 


2 and 3 Victoria — 


74 


To deal with unlawful societies. 


years' tithe war 


1839 


2 and 3 Victoria - 


77 


To deal with aggravated assaults. 




1841 


4 and 5 Victoria ... 


25 


To prohibit importation of arms. 


See further oli- 


1843 


6 and 7 Victoria 


23 


To deal with aggravated assaults. 


servations ap- 


1847-8 


11 and 12 Victoria - 


2 


Prevention of crime. 


pended. 


1847-8 


do 


35 


Suspension of Habeas Corpus Act. 




1847-8 


do 


89 


Unlawful combinations. 




1849 


12 and 13 Victoria - 


38 


Dealing with aggravated assaults. 




18.50 


] 3 and 14 Victoria 


106 


Crime and outrage Act. 




1852 


15 and 16 Victoria . 


66 


do. 




1852-3 


16 and 17 Victoria . 


72 


do. 




1854 


17 and 18 Victoria . 


92 


do. 




1854-5 


18 and 19 Victoria . 


112 


do. 




18.56 


19 and 20 Victoria . 


36 


Peace Preservation Act. 




1857-8 


21 and 22 Victoria . 


28 


do. 




1860 


23 and 24 Victoria . 


138 


do. 




1862 


25 and 26 Victoria . 


24 


do. 




1865 


28 and 29 Victoria 


118 


do. 




1866 


29 and 30 Victoria . 


119 


Habeas Corpus Susfteiision. 




1867 


30 and 31 Victoria . 


] 


do. 




1861 


do 


25 
9 


do. 
Peace Preservation Acf. 




1870 


33 and 34 Victoria . 




1873 


36 and 37 Victoria - 


24. 


do. 




1875 


38 and 39 Victoria - 


11 


do. 




1881 


41 and 45 Victoria - 


14 


Habeas Corpus Suspension. 




1882 


45 and 46 Victoria - 


25 


Prevention of crime. 




1883 


46 and 47 Victoria - 


12 


Peace Preservation Act. 




1887 


50 and 51 Victoria . 


20 


Criminal Law and Procedure Act. 





[93] 



This Act of 1887 was a Perpetual Coercion act. TJie various coercion 
acts subsequent to 1887 until the beginning of the war have been merely 
supplementary to it, and are not included here.* 

These Acts of Coercion have been condemned by public opinion the 
world over. Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton in the British Parliament, speak- 
ing against the passage of the Bill of 1833 said : 

"It is proposed, to pacify Ireland by domiciliary visits, courts- 
martial, by — Oh! Rare pacification! * * * You would pacify 
a country by maddening its people. * * * jf ^q^ suspend 
the constitution, you suspend it for all ahke; you make no exception 
from the dread ban of general excommunication. You subject the 
innocent and guilty alike to spies and informers; to the arbitrary perils 
of suspicion; to those dark uncertainties of terror in which every man 
stands in fear of his neighbours. You give temptation to the accusa- 
tion of private revenge; you give a field to all the mercenary, all the 
malignant, all the individual motives which are ever brought into 
operation by the suspension of law and the insecurity of political 
freedom. * * * When this law was in force before, men turned 
it to the most fearful purposes. It was not the peasant who was invaded 
in his own person ; he was outraged in that of his sister or his wife. It 
was a law that benefited not the trembling landlord, but the daring 
violators; it had operated, not in behalf of the security of property, but 
against rights still more sacred than even property itself. * * *" 

"We take the time for exercising new coercions at the very moment 
when by our new experiment of conciliation we have veritably declared 
that seven centuries of coercion have been unavailing. * * * j ^j^ 
sure that no people on the face of the earth can be governed by the 
system His Majesty's Ministers propose. Today coercion, tomorrow 
concession. * * * ^j^jg coaxing with the hand and spurring with 
the heel — this system — at once feeble and exasperating — of allowing 
the justice of complaint, and yet stifling its voice — of holding out 
hopes and fears, terror and conciliation, all in a breath — is a system 
that renders animals and human beings alike, not tame but savage, 
it is a system that would make the most credulous people dis- 
trustful, and the mildest people ferocious. * * * But you flatter 
yourself that under the shelter of those laws you will be able 
with effect to apply your remedial measures; it is just the reverse; 
they will blight all your remedies, and throw their withering 
shadow over all your concessions. I do not fear an open rebelhon 
against the armed force and discipline of England; but if you madden 
people it is impossible to calculate the strength of insanity. Indeed, 
I think an open rebellion is the least evil to be feared. I fear more, a 
sullen, bitter, unforgiving recollection, which will distrust all our kind- 
ness and misinterpret all our intentions; which will take all grace from 



*Note: The Act of 1882 contained a provision empowering three judges siltiny wilJi- 
oul a jury to try persons charged with the commission of murder and otlier felonies. The 
best comment on this ferocious measure was supplied by the Irish judges themselves who, 
at a special meeting convened to consider the position, passed a resolution declaring their 
unanimous opinion "that the Prevention of Crime (Ireland) Act of 1882 would seriously 
impair public confidence in the judicial office, and thereby permantly impair the adminis- 
tration of justice in Ireland." One of their body, the late Baron Fitzgerald of the Court of 
Exchequer, resigned his office, and publicly declared that be did so because he considered 
the new duties cast upon himself and his colleagues were unconstitutional. In consequence 
of these protests the provision of trial by three judges without a jury was never enforced _ 

f941 



our gifts; wbicli will rippii a partial into a general desire for a separate 
Legislature, by a settled conviction of the injustice of this, so that at 
last the English people themselves, worn out with unavailing experi- 
ments, wearied with an expensive and thankless charge, and dis- 
satisfied with a companionship which gives them nothing but the conta- 
gion of its diseases, will be the first to ask for that very dismemberment of 
the empire which we are now attempting to prevent." 



[VI] (c) 

ENGLISH RUTHLESSNESS IN IRELAND 
IN PAST CENTURIES 

English savagery in Ireland is not of Twentieth-Century growth. 

"Centuries of brutal and often ruthless injustice, and what is worse 
* * * centuries of insolence and insult have driven hatred of Rritish 
rule into the very marrow of the Irish race. The long records of 
oppression, proscription and expatriation have formed the greatest 
blot on the British fame of equity and eminence in the realm of govern- 
ment." — Lloyd George in British Parhament, March 7, 1917. 

As indicated in this Parliamentary address of Lloyd George, English 
attempts to subdue Ireland have been accompanied by barbarities of an 
infinite variety, and prompted by a purpose as uniform as it has been futile. 
From the thirteenth to the seventeenth centuries English invasions, mas- 
sacres and confiscations alternated with subtler methods of intrigue and 
penetration — all failing in the fell purpose of conquest. 

MASSACRE AND FAMINE IN ELIZABETHIAN ERA 

The character of the campaigns by which Elizabeth's officers strove to 
establish English rule is described by Edmund Spencer, the author of the 
"Faerie Queen": 

"Notwithstanding that the same was a most rich and plentiful 

country, full of corne and cattel, yet, ere one year and a half, they were 

brought to such wretchedness as thet any stony heart would rue the 

same." 

Lord Essex in 1599 wrote in a letter to the Queen: 

"'Twere as well for our credit that we alone had the exposition of 
our quarrel with this people, and not they also," 

And another Lord Deputy writing shortly after 1607 described his activi- 
ties as follows: 

"Hunger would be a better, because a speedier weapon to employ 
against them than the sword. * * * j turned all along the Lough 
(Neagh) within four miles of Dungannon, and killed a hundred people, 
sparing none, of what quality, age or sex soever, besides many burned 
to death; — killed man, woman and child; horse, beast, and whatsoever 
we could find." 



Of this period the historian Lecky said: 

"The suppression of the native race, was carried on with a ferocity 
which surpassed that of Alva in the Netherlands and has seldom been 
exceeded in the pages of history. 

"The war was literally a war of extermination. The slaughter of 
Irishmen was looked upon as literally the slaughter of wild beasts. 
Not only the men but even the women and children who fell into the 
hands of the English, were deliberately and systematically butchered." 

Those who escaped the sword died of famine, and the Lord Deputy 
Mountjoy reported: 

"We have seen no one man in all Tyrone of late but dead carcasses 
merely hunger starved. * * * No spectacle was more frequent in 
the ditches of towns and especially in wasted countries, than to see 
multitudes of these poor people dead, with their mouths all colored green 
by eating nettles, docks, and all things they could rend up above the 
ground." 

IN CROMWELLIAN PERIOD 

To the massacres of Elizabeth and James there succeeded those of 
Strafford and Cromwell. In the latter it is estimated that over one million 
Irish were killed within a comparatively short period. Sir William Petty^ 
an Englishman, writing in "Political Anatomy of Ireland," 1691, puts the 
figure at 669,000. 

Some thirty thousand men, women and children were massacred at 
Drogheda; a similar fate overtook the inhabitants of Wexford, Dundalk, 
Newry and many other cities. Cromwell's official report to Parliament 
stated: 

"It has pleased God to bless our endeavors at Drogheda— I wish 

that all honest hearts may give glory of this to God alone — I do not 

think thirty of the whole number escaped with their lives; those that 

did, are in safe custody for the Barbadoes." 

The last words refer to the organized slave-traffic then inaugurated, of 
which Prendergast wrote: 

"In the course of four years they had seized and shipped 6400 
Irish men and women, boys and maidens * * * When they began 
to seize the daughters and children of the English themselves— then 
indeed the orders at the end of four years, were revoked." 

PENAL CODE IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 

In the eighteenth century was perfected the famous Penal Code de- 
scribed by Edmund Burke as 

"The worst species of tyranny that the insolence and perverseness of 
mankind ever dared exercise. It was a complete system, well digested 
and well composed in all its parts. It was a machine of wise and elab- 
orate contrivance; and as well fitted for the oppression, impoverish- 
ment and degradation of a people, and the debasement in them of 
human nature itself, as ever proceeded from the perverted ingenuity 
of man." — (Works of Edmund Burke, Vol. 2, p. 64-84.) 

[96] 



The Unionist historian Lecky wrote of the Irish Penal Code, that it 
had a character entirely distinctive: 

"It was directed not against the few, but against the many. It 
was not the persecution of a sect, but the degradation of a nation 
* * * it may be justly regarded as one of the blackest pages in the 
history of persecution." 

The Penal Laws were only on the surface of religious origin. Even at 
the time of their enforcement their true character was recognized by many 
as the political and economic tyranny of one nation over another. Samuel 
Johnson is reported to have said, as stated in Boswell's Life (p. 29) : 

"The Irish are in a most unnatural state, for we there see the 
minority prevailing over the majority. There is no instance even in 
the Ten Persecutions of such severity." 

During the eighteenth century, besides enduring legal slavery, the 
Irish suffered from perpetual famine and were too exhausted to maintain 
an effective resistance. The relief obtained in 1782 was short-lived and the 
closing years of the century witnessed the organized campaign of exaspera- 
tion which ultimately provoked the rebellion of 1798. During that and the 
succeeding year it is estimated that between fifty and eighty thousand Irish 
were butchered and innumerable tortures inflicted. 

Mr. Sampson, accepted as a reliable witness, gives the following de- 
scription of the conditions existing at that time: 

"I remained in Dublin until the 16th of April, when the terror 
became so atrocious that humanity could no longer endure it. In 
every quarter of the metropolis, the shrieks and groans of the tortured 
were to be heard, and that through all hours of the day and night. 
Men were taken at randon without process or accusation, and tortured 
at the pleasure of the lowest dregs of the community. Bloody theatres 
were opened and new and unheard of machines were invented for their 
diabolical purpose. 

"The tortures administered during the reign of terror cannot be 
surpassed, perhaps not paralleled in the annals of human suffering and 
crime. * * * Half-hanging was a common means of extorting 
confession. Wives, children, parents, sisters were brought to see these 
tortures inflicted on their nearest relatives. * * * These tortures, 
be it remembered, were inflicted not as a punishment for guilt, but as 
a means of acquiring information." 

Another contemporary account by Charles Hamilton Teeling in his 
book "Personal Narrative of the Iiish Rebellion," (p. 130) contains the fol- 
lowing: 

"Numbers perished under the lash, many were shot at their peace- 
ful avocations, in the very bosom of their families, for the wanton 
amusement of the brutal soldiery. The torture of the pitch-cap was a 
subject of amusement both to officers and men. * * * The torture 
practiced in those days of Ireland's misery has not been equaUed in the 
annals of the most barbarous nation. * * * But the Government 
had obtained the object desired. Ireland irns goaded to resistance and 
secnrity was sought for in the tented field.'' 

[97] 



COERCION, FAMINE AND EMIGRATION 
IN NINETEENTH CENTURY 

During the nineteenth century EngHsh rule in Ireland was marked b> 
perpetual coercion, wholesale eviction, famine, emigration and genera 
depopulation. The "legal" persecution of the people was carried on by th( 
passing of over ninety Coercion Acts whereby the ordinary course oi' lav 
was suspended. 

Lord Brougham (Speeches, Vol. IV), said: 

"It is in these enactments alone that we have ever shown ou 
liberality to Ireland! She has received Penal Laws from Englan( 
almost as plentifully as she has received blessings from the hands o 
Providence." 

Writing in 1887, J. A. Fox showed that already eighty-seven Coercioi 
Acts had been passed since the Union. He wrote: 

"These Coercion enactments, in fact, have been so numerous anc 
have been in force so continuously for the last eighty-five years ii 
Ireland, that for that period what is called 'ordinary law' has been thi 
exception in that country and extraordinary legislation, utterly sub 
versive of the ordinary law has been the rule. That is to say 'Main 
taining the undisputed supremacy of the law' has meant in the cours 
of the past eighty-five years the passage of eighty-seven Coercion Acts 
either new or continuations of old ones; the existence, amost con 
tinuously ever since the first year of the Union of one or two Coercioi 
Codes which, as we shall see, outrage the most cherished principles o 
public and personal liberty; the all but complete and continuou 
supercession during that period of the ordinary law, as it is known ii 
England and Scotland." 

For the most of the century, the Habeas Corpus Act was suspended ii 
Ireland and even during the years of the Great Famine eight special Coer 
cion Acts were imposed upon the stricken population. Eviction was th 
grim attendant of coercion throughout the century. It is estimatec 
that nearly two million people were driven from their holdings during tin 
first half of the century, and, over a million in the second half — in order h 
make room for cattle. 

"Blue Book No. 1089" which comprised an account of Captain Ken 
nedy 's Report to the British Parliament on the Evictions in the Kilrush Unioi 
describes the process in the case of a typical Irish parish. The following ar 
extracts from the Report: 

"April 13, 1848. — Thirty or forty cabins are levelled in a singl 
day; the inmates crowd into neighboring ones till disease is generated 

"June 1848.— Wretched hovels have been pulled down where th( 
inmates were in a helpless state of fever and nakedness and left by th 
roadside for days. As many as 300 souls, creatures of the most help 
less class, have been left houseless in one day." 

[98] 



"May 7, 1849. — Notwithstanding that fearful, and I beheve un- 
paralleled, numbers have been unhoused in this union within the year 
(probably 15,000), it seems hardly credible that 1,200 more have had 
their dwellings levelled within a fortnight — these ruthless acts of bar- 
barity are submitted to with an unresisting patience hardly credible." 

Referring to this official report, Sir Robert Peel stated: 

"I do not think that the records of any country, civilized or bar- 
barous, present materials for such a picture." ( — Hansard June 8, 1879). 

And writing on the same subject, Joseph Kay, in his work "Social Conditions 
of the People" Vol. I, observes: 

"We have made Ireland— I speak it deliberately— we have made 
it the most degraded and the most miserable country in the world — 
all the world is crying shame upon us." 

That the great criminal responsibility for the Irish evictions did not rest 
solely on the landlords but also on the English Government, was admitted 
by Mr, Gladstone in the House of Commons. He said: 

"The deeds of the Irish landlords are to a great extent our deeds. 
We are participes criminis; we with power in our hands looked on; we 
not only looked on but we encouraged and sustained." 

Famine in various degrees was almost continuous. The more serious 
ones occurred in 1819, 1823, 1830, 1847-49, and 1879-80. The Duke of 
Wellington admitted in Parliament in 1838 that ever since he had been 
Chief Secretary there had hardly been a single year in which the Irish were 
not threatened with famine. On October 25, 1839, "The Times" stated that 

"more misery is crowded into a single province of Ireland than can be 
found in all the rest of Europe put together — the well-being of millions 
is disregarded, famine and misery stalk through the land." 

Thackeray paid a visit to Ireland in 1843 and wrote an account of it 
in his "Irish Sketch Book," in which we find the following: 

"The traveler has before him the spectacle of a people dying of 
hunger, and in the very richest counties men are suffering and starving 
by millions." 

That the Great Famine was artificial was explicitly stated by "The 
Times" on June 26, 1845: 

"The people have not enough to eat. They are suffering a real 
though an artificial famine. Nature does her duty; the land is fruitful 
enough, nor can it be fairly said that man is wanting. The Irishman is 
disposed to work, in fact man and nature together do produce abun- 
dantly. The island is full and overflowing with human food. But 
something ever intervenes between the hungry mouth and the ample 
banquet." 

[99] 



Lord John Russell, British Premier, also admitted that in 1847 the 
wheat crop, for instance, was above the average, and cattle there were in 
abundance; but these two commodities were borne away from the Irish 
ports daily, in sight of a starving people to pay the rack-rents of absentee 
landlords. 

Although over a million people died of famine during the ten years 
following 1845, this was by no means the last visitation of an evil which 
remained endemic in the country during the rest of the century; and in 
November 1880 General Gordon, the hero of Khartoum, wrote to the 
"Times" from County Cork that: 

"From all acounts and from my own observation, the state of our 
fellow-countrymen in the parts I have named is worse than that of any 
people in the world, let alone Europe." 

Coercion, eviction and famine combined to produce enormous emigra- 
tion from the shores of Ireland during the second half of the nineteenth 
century, although the question engaged the attention of the world long 
before 1845. Already in 1835 a Parliamentary Commission stated that in 
Ireland there were 2,380,000 persons liable to die of hunger, and in the fifteen 
years which preceded the Great Famine 800,000 emigrated from Ireland, 
while only 370,000 left from Great Britain. During the thirty years from 
1831 to 1861, three miUion emigrated from Ireland and one and one-half 
million from Great Britain. — (Thom's Official Directory, 1852 and 1861). 

Speaking in the House of Commons on July 6, 1854, Mr. Bright said 
that no man could travel in Ireland "without feeling that some enormous 
crime has been committed by the Government under which that people 
live": and we read in the "Principles of Political Economy" by John Stewart 
Mill: 

"The land of Ireland like the land of every other country belongs 
to the people which inhabit it * * * and when the inhabitants of 
a country leave it 'en masse^ because a Government does not leave 
them room to live, that Government is already judged and con- 
demned." 

According to the official Census the total population was reduced in 
sixty years from 8,250,000 in 1841 to 4,390,000 in 1911— an appalling record 
of depopulation that has a parallel nowhere in the civilized world. 

The following table indicates (1) the natural growth of Ireland's 
population during a comparatively peaceful period, although one marked by 
increasing emigration — and (2) the striking depopulation of a later period 
signalized by famines, eviction and intensive enn'gration: 



OOi 



Comparative Statistical Tables of Populations 
(From British Official Returns) 



Year 

1801 
1841 
1871 
1911 


England and Wales 

8,892,536 
15,914,148 
22,712,266 
36,070,492 


Increase 

1,608,420 
2,620,184 
3,360,018 
4,760,904 


Ireland 

5,395,456 
8,175,124 
5,412,377 
4,390,219 


Change in 

Period 
1801-1911 


Increase 
27,177,956 


Increase 
3,152,484 


Decrease 
1,005,237 





Density of Population by Square M 


ILE 




England and Wales 


Scotland 


Ireland 


1801 


152 


54 


166 


1841 


272 


88 


251 


1871 


392 


113 


167 


1911 


618 


160 


135 


Change in 


Increase per sq. 


Increase per sq. 


Decrease per sq. 


Period 


mile 


mile 


mile 


1801-1911 


466 


106 


31 



The Population of England and Wales in 1911 was over four (4) times 
larger than it was in 1801. 

The population of Scotland in 1911 Avas, approximately, three (3) 
times larger than it was in 1801. 

The population of Ireland in 1911 had declined by one-fifth (1-5) of 
that of 1801. 

England and Wales in 1911 had a population two and one- third (2 1-3) 
times greater than that in 1841. 

Scotland in 1911 had a population one and three-fourths (1%) times 
greater than it had in 1841. 

The population of Ireland in 1911 was less by one-half (^) than that 
recorded in 1841. 

These figures form a record of national loss unparalleled in the civilized 
world. The decline in population was not due to natural causes. 

The Irish race is not decadent. With the exception of Holland, the 
birth-rate in Ireland is the highest in Europe.* 

The fertility of the Irish people "is almost the greatest in Europe," and 
"Ireland * * * among all countries from which figures can be obtained, 
shows an increased fertility, "f 

*Inquirv into European Birth-rates by Statistical Department of the Government of 
Bavaria, 1910. 

fProceedings of the London Statistical Society, 1906. 

[101] 



Comparative Statistical Tables of Population of Ireland 
AND Other Small Nations 

(Formerly held under Alien Rule) 

Bohemia Ireland 



1846 
1913 



1831 
1913 


3,900.000 
6,860,029 


Increased 

75% 


7,767,401 
4,379,076 


Decreased 

43% 




Finland 


Ireland 




1850 
1914 


1,636,915 
3,269,401 


Increased 

99% 


6,877,849 
4,381,398 


Decreased 
36% 




Esthonia 


Ireland 


' 


1856 
1915 


293,559 
512,500 


Increased 

54% 


5,972,851 
8,337,000 


Decreased 

27% 




Russian Poland 


Ireland 




1871 
1915 


6,193,710 
12,247,600 


Increased 

97% 


5,398,179 
4,337,000 


Decreased 
19.7% 




Prussian Poland 


Ireland 




1855 
1910 


1,392.636 
2,099,831 


Increased 

50% 


6,014,665 
4,385,421 


Decreased 

27% 



Austrian Poland 



Ireland 



4,461,400 
8,211,770 



Increased 
84% 



8,287,848 
4,379,076 



Decreased 

47% 



Comparative Analysis of Foregoing Tables 
Ireland-Bohemia: 

Had Ireland's populalioii, IVoin 1831 U) 1913 increased at the same rate 
as Bohemia's, the population of Ireland in 1913 would have been 13,592,951 
instead of 4,379,076. 

*Had Bohemia's population decreased proportionately to that of Ireland 
in the same period, Bohemia Avould have had in 1913 but 2,223,000, instead 
of 6,860,029. 

[102] 



I rdand-F inland: 

Had Ireland's population, from 1850 to 1914, increased at the same 
rate as Finland's, the population of Ireland in 1914 would have been 
13,067,913 instead of 4,381,398. 

Had Finland's population decreased as had Ireland's in the same period 
Finland would have had in 1914 but 1,047,626 instead of 3,269,401. 

Ireland-Esthonia: 

Had Ireland, from 1856 to 1915, increased in population as Esthonia 
did, Ireland's population in 1915 would have been 9,198,190, instead of 
4,337,000. 

Ireland-Russian Poland: 

Had Ireland increased in population as Russian Poland did from 1871 
onward, Ireland in 1915 would have had 10,634,412 people instead of 
4,337,000. 

Ireland-Prussian Poland: 

Had Ireland increased in population from 1855 to 1910 as Prussian 
Poland did, it would in 1910 have had 9,021,997 people instead of 4,385,000. 

Ireland- Austrian Poland: 

Had Ireland increased in population as Austrian Poland had from 
1846 to 1913, Ireland would in 1913 have had 15,251,640 people instead of 
4,379,000. 

Had normal conditions of government prevailed, the natural increase 
in the population of Ireland between 1841 and 1911 (latest Census year) 
would have given the country today a population of at least 12,000,000, 
and not the 4,350,000 persons as recorded by the British authorities. 

The causes for Ireland's appalling depopulation in the past century 
have been written in the blood and tears of the Irish Nation — as Coercion, 
Eviclion, Famine, and Eniigraiionl This record is without parallel in the 
world's history. It is in itself a comprehensive indictment and condem- 
nation of England's prolonged attempt to rule the Irish people against 
their will. 



[103] 



[VII] 

THE COMMERCIAL RUIN OF IRELAND 

"To prohibit a great nation from making all thai they can of their 
oiun produce, or from employing their stock and industry in the iray that 
they judge most advantageous to themselves, is a manifest violation of the 
most sacred rights of mankind.'' — Adam Smith: Wealth of Nations. 

British policy applied to Ireland has been influenced by economic as 
well as by political considerations. The history of the relations of the two 
countries shows that England deliberately set herself to repress Irish in- 
dustry and to annihilate Irish commerce. In this policy the Government of 
England was supported by the manufacturers and merchants of that country. 
The inevitable disastrous results of the application of this immoral policy 
are tragically visible in the political and economic life of present-day Ireland. 

It was the wealth and commerce of Ireland that, first, attracted the 
Danes, and, later, the Normans, and occasioned invasions of Ireland, at 
different periods, by both these peoples. The Danish attempt to subdue 
the country was utterly defeated at Clontarf (Dublin) in 1014; the Norman 
(Anglo-Saxon) attempt (1172) has proceeded with varying fortunes down 
to the present day. The industry and trade of Ireland suffered in the 
general devastation consequent on these invasions. 

SIXTEENTH CENTURY 

"Along tlu' track of Elizabeth's soldiers, houses, cornfields, orchards 
f<'nces, every token of a people's industry were laid 'handsmoolh.'" — 
jNlrs. (ireen: Making of Ireland and its Undoing.) 

"The (English) Lord President of Munster burnt all the houses 
and corn, taking great preys * * * and harassing the country, 
not leaving behind him man or beast, corn or cattel." — (Pacala Hiber- 
nia, pp. 189-90.) 

"The land itself which before these wars was populous, well in- 
habited, and rich in all the good blessing of God — being plenteous of 
corn, full of cattle, well stored with fish and other good commodities — 
is now become so barren both of man and beast that, whoever did 
travel from one end of all Munster, even from Waterford to the Head 
of Smerwick, would not meet any man, woman or child, save in towns 
or cities; nor yet see any beasts but the very wolves, foxes, and the 
other like ravening beasts." — (HoHnshead, vol. VL, p. 459.) 

"From the Dingle to the Rock of Cashel," wrote the Four Masters, 
"not the lowing of a cow nor the voice of the ploughman was that year 
(1582) to be heard." 

SEVENTEENTH CENTURY 

The aim of the English statesmen in the 17th century was to put a 
stop to Irish industry and prosperity and to transfer the markets and 
commerce of the country to English merchants. In this century the 
Parliament of England waged a bitter and protracted war against the 
economic activities of the Irish people. 

[104] 



Writing in 1634, the (English) Lord Lieutenant Strafford said: 

"To serve your majesty completely well in Ireland, we must 
* * * make sure still to hold them (the Irish people) dependent 
upon the crown, and not able to subsist without us, which will be 
effected by wholly laying aside the manufacture of wools into cloth 
stuff there, and by furnishing them from this kingdom (England), and 
then making your majesty sole merchant of all salts on that side 
(Ireland), for thus shall they not only have their clothing, the improve- 
ment of all their native commodities (which are principally preserved 
by salt) and their victual itself from hence ; (strong ties and enforcements 
upon their allegiance and obedience to your majesty.)" 

"Besides, in reason of state, so long as they did not indrape their 
own wools, they must of necessity fetch their clothing from us, and 
consequently in a sort depend upon us for their livelihood, and thereby 
become so dependent upon this crown, as they would not depart from 
us without nakedness to themselves and children." — (Straffords' 
Letters, Dubhn, 1740), 

Under the "Navigation Acts" (1637-60-63-96) the English Parliament 
forbade, under severe penalties, all trade between Ireland and the Continent 
of Europe and the British colonies. These enactments stopped the external 
trade of Ireland, left Irish products without a market, other than that of 
England, and removed from the Irish people the means to purchase even 
the necessaries of life. 

Cromwell prohibited the shipping of Irish cattle to England in 1680, 
and from that year to 1757, not only live stock but meats of all kind, butter 
and cheese, of Irish production were rigorously excluded from the English 
markets. At the same period, the export of Irish-tanned leather was for- 
bidden by English statute. 

In 1670 England forbad, through parliamentary enactment, the expor- 
tation to Ireland of sugar, tobacco, cotton-wool, indigo, ginger, fustic or 
other dyeing wood, the produce of English over-sea plantations. 

At the same period, England placed restrictions on the glass trade, on 
silk, on hops, beer and malt, and on other branches of Irish industry. English 
historians of theperiod have recorded the disastrous results of thisinterference 
by the English Parliament on the economic activities of the Irish people. 

Arthur Young says: 

"Of all the restrictions which England has at different times most 
implicitly laid upon the trade of Ireland, there is none more obnoxious 
than the embargoes on their provision trade. The prohibitions of the 
export of woollens, and various other articles, have this pretence at 
least in their favor, that they are advantageous to similar manufactures 
in England; and Ireland has long been trained to the sacrifice of her 
national advantage as a dependent country; but in respect to embargoes 
even this shallow pretence is wanting; a whole kingdom is sacrificed 
and plundered, not to enrich England, but three or four London con- 
tractors!" 

"The historian Carte, in his Life of Ormond, writes: 

"The people had no money to pay the subsidies granted by Parlia- 
ment, and their cattle was grown such a drug that horses that used to 
be sold for thirty shillings were now sold for dogs' meat at twelvepence 
apiece, and beeves that brought before fifty shillings were now sold 
for ten." 

[105] 



In 1673 the English Viceroy in Ireland publicly proposed that the- 
woollen industry should be abandoned in that country as it interfered 
prejudicially with that of England. In 1698 the English House of Lords, 
acting conjointly with the House of Commons, addressed the English King 
William on the subject of the Irish woolen industry. The Lords represented' 
that: 

"The growing manufacture of cloth in Ireland, both by the cheap- 
ness of all sorts of necessEU-ies of life, and the goodness of material for 
making all manner of cloth," having made the King's loyal subjects in 
England very apprehensive that the further growth of it would greatly 
prejudice the said manufacture here (in England), and lessen the value 
of lands; they, the Lords, besought his most sacred majesty to be pleased 
"in the most public and effectual way that may be to declare to all his- 
subjects of Ireland, that the growth and increase of the woolen manu- 
facture there (in Ireland) hath long been and will ever be looked upon 
with great jealousy by all his subjects of the kingdom of England." 

The Commons of England resolved : 

"Being very sensible that the wealth and power of this kingdom 
do, in a great measure, depend on the preservation of the woollen 
manufacture as much as possible entire to this realm," conceived them 
that it became them to be jealous of the estabhshment and increase of 
the industry elsewhere. "They cannot without trouble observe that 
Ireland should of late apply itself to the woollen manufacture to the 
great prejudice of the trade of England * * * Parliament will be 
necessitated to interfere to prevent the mischief that threatens. His 

majesty's protection and favor in this matter is most humbly implored 

* * * " 

To these addresses the English monarch replied briefly to the effect 
that the wish of Parliament should be carried out. Accordingly it was 
enacted, under penalty of the forfeiture of both goods and ship, and a penalty 
of five hundred pounds (£500) "for every such offence," that the exportation 
of either the raw material or the manufactured woollen stuffs, from Ireland,, 
was prohibited. Thus was Ireland's (at that time) greatest industry sacri- 
ficed to appease the commercial jealousy of England. 

Edmund Burke, in 1778, asked: 

"Do they forget that the whole woollen manufacture of Ireland, 
the most extensive and profitable of any, and the natural staple of that 
kingdom, has been in a manner so destroyed by restrictive laws * * * 
that in a few years it is probable the Irish will not be able to wear a 
coat of their own fabric? Is this equality?" 

Luke Gardiner, speaking in the Irish Parliament, on these restraints 
of commerce and industry, said : 

"When King William came to the throne * * * jjg j^j^ 
several unjust and pernicious restrictions on the trade of Ireland, in 
order to gratify England, which began to grow jealous of our prosperity 

* * * Let us mark the consequences. The manufacturers, no 
longer able to find subsistence at home, emigrated, where they were 
received with open arms. The French, notwithstanding every exertion, 

[106] 



"had been unable to establish the woollen manufactures, until they pro- 
cured Irish wool to mix with their own, and Irish men to weave it. 
They then, conscious of the advantages of protecting their trade, laid 
additional duties on the importation of English cloths. The event soon 
confirmed with what propriety they adopted these protective duties; 
they in a short time manufactured enough for the home market, and 
* * * are enabled not only to rival Great Britain, but to under- 
sell her in every market in Europe." 

Barlow states: 

"Deprived of the means of subsistence at home, thousands of Irish 
manufacturers emigrated to France and other countries, where they 
assisted the inhabitants in the augmentation of the quantity and im- 
provements of the quality of their woollen cloths and established cor- 
respondents by which vast quantities of Irish wool, whose exportation, 
except to England, was prohibited, were carried clandestinely to other 
countries." 

The industry of ship-building was likewise assailed and destroyed. 
Legislation was passed prohibiting Irish merchants from using any ships 
but those built in England for the carrying of their external trade. And 
the better to secure this, it was also enacted that Ireland could not carry on 
direct commerce with the English colonies, save only through English ports, 
and employing English shipping for the transportation of such commerce. 
In 1698 deep-sea fishing off the Irish coast was prohibited, except carried 
on in English-built boats. Irish fishermen were, also, forbidden to fish on 
the Newfoundland banks, to prevent competition with English fishermen. 

Thus one by one Ireland's industries were strangled by restrictive 
legislation enacted by England with the deliberate purpose of keeping the 
Irish Nation in subjection. 

The English historian, Froude, writing of this period, said: 

"The English deliberately determined to keep Ireland poor and 
miserable, as the readiest means to prevent it being troublesome. They 
destroyed Irish trade and shipping by navigation laws. They extin- 
guished Irish manufactures by preferential duties. They laid dis- 
abilities even on its wretched agriculture, for fear that Irish importa- 
tions might injure the Enghsh farmer." 

"With their shipping destroyed by the Navigation Act, their 
woollen manufactures taken from them, their trade in all its branches 
crippled and confined, the single resource left to those of the Irish who 
still nourished dreams of improving their unfortunate country was 
agriculture. The soil was at least their own. * * * Here was 
employment for a population three times more numerous than as yet 
existed. Here was a prospect, if not of commercial wealth, yet of 
substantial comfort and material abundance. * * * The tenants 
were forbidden in their leases to break or plough the soil. The people 
no longer employed were driven away into holes and corners, ^nd eked 
out a wretched subsistence by potato gardens, or by keeping starving 
cattle of their own on the neglected bogs. * * * the (Irish) House 
of Commons in 1776, resolved unanimously to make an effort for a 
general change of system. * * * They passed a vote that covenants 
•which prohibited the breaking of soil with the plough were impolitic 

[107] 



and should have no binding force. * * * They passed heads of a 
Bill, which they recommended * * * to the English Council, 
enjoining * * * that a trifling bounty should be granted by the 
Government on corn grown for exportation. 

"And what did England answer? * * * fi^^^ Privy Council 
(of England) rejected a Bill which they ought rather have thrust of 
their own accord on Irish acceptance. The real motive was probably 
the same — the detestable opinion that to govern Ireland conveniently, 
Ireland must be kept weak. * * *" 

"The Irish were not to be blamed if they looked to Spain, to France, 
to any friend on earth, or in heaven, to deliver them from a power which 
discharged no single duty that rulers owe to subjects." 

The Marquis of DufFerin and Ava, Governor-General of India, in 1867, 
summarized the commercial restraints imposed by England upon Ireland, 
as follows: 

"From Queen Elizabeth's reign until the Union the various com- 
mercial confraternites of Great Britain never for a moment relaxed 
their relentless grip on the trades of Ireland. One by one, each of our 
nascent industries was either strangled in its birth, or handed over, 
gagged and bound, to the jealous custody of the rival interest in Eng- 
land, until at last every fountain of wealth was hermetically sealed, and 
even the traditions of commercial enterprise have perished through 
disuetude. The owners of England's pastures had the honour of open- 
ing the campaign. As early as the commencement of the sixteenth 
century the beeves of Roscommon, Tipperary, and Queen's County 
undersold the produce of the English grass counties in their own market. 
By an Act [of Parliament] Irish cattle were declared 'a nuisance,' 
and their importation prohibited. Forbidden to send our beasts alive 
across the Channel, we killed them at home, and began to supply the 
sister country with cured provisions. A second Act of Parliament 
imposed prohibitory duties on salted meats. The hides of the animals 
still remained; but the same influence put a stop to the importation of 
leather. Our cattle trade abolished, we tried sheep-farming. The 
sheep-breeders of England immediately took alarm, and Irish wool was 
declared contraband [by Parliament]. Headed in this direction, we tried 
to work up the raw material at home; but this created the greatest 
outcry of all. Every maker of fustian, flannel, and broadcloth in the 
country rose up in arms, and by an Act of William III. the woollen 
industry of Ireland was extinguished, and 20,000 manufacturers left 
the island. The easiness of the Irish labour market, and the cheapness 
of provisions still giving us an advantage, even though we had to im- 
port our materials, we next made a dash at the silk business; but the 
EngUsh silk manufacturer, the sugar refiner, the soap and candle maker 
(who especially dreaded the abundance of our kelp), and every other 
trade or interest that thought it worth its while to petition, was re- 
ceived by Parliament with the same partial cordiality, until the most 
searching scrutiny failed to detect a single vent through which it was 
possible for the hated industry of Ireland to respire. But although 
excluded from the markets of Great Britain, a hundred harbours gave 
her access to the universal sea. Alas! A rival commerce on her own 
element was still less welcome to England, and as early as the reign of 
Charles II. the Levant, the ports of Europe, and the oceans beyond the 

[108] 



Cape of Good Hope were forbidden to the flag of Ireland. The Colonial 
trade alone was in a manner open, if that can be called an open trade 
which for a long time precluded all exports whatever, and excluded 
from direct importation to Ireland such important articles as sugar, 
cotton, and tobacco. What has been the consequence of such a system. 
pursued with relentless pertinacity for 250 years? This — that, debarred 
from every other trade and industry, the entire nation flung itself back 
upon the land, with as fatal an impulse as when a river whose current 
is suddenly impeded rolls back and drowns the valley it once fertilized." 

To the present day the Irish people have not recovered from the evil 
effects following such repression. 

Mr. Hutchison, in his History of Commercial Restraints, truly remarked: 

"A country will sooner recover from the miseries and devastatioti 
occasioned by war, invasions, rebellion, and massacre, than from laws 
restraining commerce, discouraging the manufactures, fettering the 
industry, and above all, breaking the spirits of the people." 

It was this policy that (according to J. R. Green, English Historian) : 
''turned the country into a hell." 



[109J 



[VIII] 

THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS' ADDRESS TO 
THE PEOPLE OF IRELAND 

From the Delegates appointed by the United Colonies of New 
Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence 
Plantation, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsyl- 
vania, The Lower Counties on Delaware, Maryland, North 
Carolina and South Carolina in General Congress at Phila- 
delphia, July 28, 1775. 

Friends and Fellow-Subjects: 

As the important contest, into which we have been driven, is now 
become interesting to every European State, and particularly affects the 
members of the British Empire, we think it our duty to address you on the 
subject. We are desirous, as is natural to injured innocence, of possessing 
the good opinion of the virtuous and humane. We are particularly desirous 
of furnishing you with a true state of our motives and objects, the better 
to enable you to judge of our conduct with accuracy, and determine the 
merits of the controversy with impartiality and precision. 

However incredible it may appear, that, at this enlightened period, 
the leaders of a nation, which in every age has sacrificed hecatombs of her 
bravest patriots on the altar of liberty, should presume gravely to assert, 
and, by force of arms, attempt to establish an arbitrary sway over the lives, 
liberties and property of their fellow subjects in America, it is, nevertheless, 
a most deplorable and indisputable truth. 

These colonies have, from the time of their first settlement, for near 
two centuries, peaceably enjoyed those very rights, of which the Ministry 
have, for ten years past, endeavored by fraud and by violence, to deprive 
them. At the conclusion of the last war, the genius of England and the 
spirit of wisdom, as if offended at the ungrateful treatment of their sons, 
withdrew from the British councils, and left that nation a prey to a race of 
ministers, with whom ancient English honesty and benevolence disdained 
to dwell. From that period, jealousy, discontent, oppression and discord 
have raged among all his Majesty's subjects, and filled every part of his 
dominions with distress and complaint. 

Not content with our purchasing of Britain, at her own price, clothing 
and a thousand other articles used by near three million of people on this 
vast Continent; not satisfied with amazing profits arising from the monopoly 
of our trade, without giving us either time to breathe after a long, though 
glorious war, or the least credit for the blood and treasure we have expended 
in it; notwithstanding the zeal we had manifested for the service of our 
Sovereign, and the warmest attachment to the constitution of Britain and 
the people of England, a black and horrid design was formed to convert us 
from freemen into slaves, from subjects into vassals, and from friends into 
enemies. 

[110] 



Taxes, for the first time since we landed on the American shores, were» 
without om" consent, imposed upon us ; an unconstitutional edict to compel 
us to furnish necessaries for a standing army, that we wished to see dis- 
banded, was issued; and the legislature of New York suspended for refusing 
to comply with it. Our ancient and inestimable right of trial by jury was, 
in many instances, aboHshed; and the common law of the land made to 
give place to Admiralty jurisdictions. Judges were rendered, by the tenure 
of their commissions, entirely dependent on the will of a Minister. New 
crimes were arbitrarily created, and new courts, unknown to the constitu- 
tion, instituted. Wicked and insidious Governors have been set over us; and 
dutiful petition, for the removal of even the notoriously infamous Governor 
Hutchinson, were branded with the approbrious appellation of scandalous 
and defamatory. Hardy attempts have been made, under colour of Parlia- 
mentary authority, to seize Americans and carry them to Great Britain to 
be tried for offences committed in the Colonies. Ancient charters have no 
longer remained sacred; that of the Massachusetts Bay was violated, and 
their form of government essentially mutilated and transformed. .On 
pretence of punishing a violation of some private property, committed by a 
few disguised individuals, the populous and flourishing town of Boston was 
surrounded by fleets and armies; its trade destroyed; its port blocked up; 
and thirty thousand citizens subjected to all the miseries attending so 
sudden a convulsion in their commerical metropolis and to remove every 
obstacle to the rigorous execution of this system of oppression, an Act of 
Parliament was passed evidently calculated to indemnify those, who might, 
in the prosecution of it, even embrue their hands in the blood of the inhabi- 
tants. 

Though pressed by such an accumulation of undeserved injuries, America 
still remembered her duties to her Sovereign. A Congress, consisting of 
Deputies from Twelve United Colonies, assembled. They, in the most 
respectful terms, laid their grievances at the foot of the throne; and im- 
plored his Majesty's interposition in their behalf. They also agreed to 
suspend all trade with Great Britain, Ireland, and the West Indies ; hoping, 
by this peaceable mode of opposition, to obtain that justice from the British 
Ministry which had been so long sohcited in vain. And here permit us to 
assure you, that it was with the utmost reluctance we could prevail upon 
ourselves, to cease our commercial connection with your island. Your 
Parliament had done us no wrong. You had ever been friendly to the rights of 
mankind; and we acknowledge, with pleasure and gratitude, that your nation 
has produced patriots, who have nobly distinguished themselves in the cause of 
humanity and America. On the other hand, we were not ignorant that the 
labor and manufacturers of Ireland, like those of the silkworm, were of 
little moment to herself; but served only to give luxury to those who neither 
toil nor spin. We perceived that if we continued our commerce with you, 
our agreement not to import from Britain would be fruitless, and were, 
therefore, compelled to adopt a measure, to which nothing but absolute 
necessity would have reconciled us. It gave us, however, some consolation 
to reflect that should it occasion much distress, the fertile regions of America 
would afl'ord you a safe asylum from poverty, and in time, from oppression 
also; an asylum, in which many thousand of your countrymen have found 
hospitality, peace, and affluence, and become united to us by all the ties of 
consanguinity, mutual interest and affection. Nor did the Congress here, 
flattered by a pleasing expectation, that the justice and humanity which 
had so long characterized the English nation, would, on proper application, 
afford us relief, they represented their grievances in an affectionate address 

[111] 



to their brethren in Great Britain, and intreated their aid and interposition 
in behalf of these Colonies. 

The more fully to evince their respect for their Sovereign, the unhappy 
people of Boston were requested by the Congress to submit with patience 
to their fate; and all America united in a resolution to abstain from every 
species of violence. During this period, that devoted town suffered unspeak- 
ably. Its inhabitants were insulted and their property violated. Still 
relying on the clemency and justice of his Majesty and the nation, they per- 
mitted a few regiments to take possession of their town, to surround it with 
fortifications; and to cut off all intercourse between them and their friends 
in the country. 

With anxious expectation did all America wait the event of their peti- 
tion. All America laments its fate. Their Prince was deaf to their com- 
plaints; And vain were all attempts to impress him with a sense of the suffer- 
ings of his American subjects, of the cruelty of their Task Masters, and of 
the many Plagues which impended over his dominions. Instead of direc- 
tions for a candid inquiry into our grievances, insult was added to oppres- 
sion ; and our long forbearance rewarded with the imputation of cowardice. 
Our trade with foreign States prohibited ; and an Act of Parliament passed 
to prevent our even fishing on our own coast. Our peaceable assemblies, 
for the purpose of consulting the common safety, were declared seditious; 
and our asserting the very rights which placed the Crown of Great Britain 
on the heads of the three successive Princes of the House of Hanover, 
styled rebellion. Orders were given to reinforce the troops in America. 
The wild and barbarous savages of the wilderness have been solicited, by 
gifts, to take up the hatchet against us; and instigated to deluge our settle- 
ments with the blood of innocent and defenceless women and children. 
The whole country was, moreover, alarmed with the expected horrors of 
domestic insurrections. Refinements in parental cruelty, at which the 
genius of Britain must blush I Refinements which admit not of being even 
recited without horror, or practised without infamy 1 We should be happy, 
were these dark machinations the mere suggestions of suspicion. We are 
sorry to declare that we are possessed of the most authentic and indubitable 
evidence of the reality. 

The Ministry, bent on pulling down the pillars of the constitution, 
endeavored to erect the standard of despotism in America; and if successful, 
Britain and Ireland may shudder at the consequences 1 

Three of their most experienced Generals are sent to wage war with 
their fellow subjects; and America is amazed to find the name of Howe in 
the catalogue of her enemies. She loved his brother. 

Despairing of driving the Colonists to resistance by any other means 
than actual hostility, a detachment of the army at Boston marched into the 
country in all the array of war; and, unprovoked, fired upon, and killed 
several of the inhabitants. The neighboring farmers suddenly assembled, 
and repelled the attack. From this, all communication between the town 
and the country was intercepted. The citizens petitioned the General for 
permission to leave the town, and he promised, on surrendering their arms, 
to permit them to depart with their other effects. They accordingly sur- 
rendered their arms, and the General violated his faith. Under various 
pretences, passports were delayed and denied; and many thousands of the 
inhabitants are, at this day, confined in the town, in the utmost wretched- 
ness and want. The lame, the blind, and the sick, have indeed been turned 
out into the neighboring fields; and some eluding the vigilance of the 
-sentries, have escaped from the town, by swimming to the adjacent shores. 

[112] 



The wai- having thus begun on the part of General Gage's troops, the 
country armed and embodied. The reinforcements from Ireland soon after 
arrived; a vigorous attack was then made upon the provincials. In their 
march the troops surrounded the town of Charlestown, consisting of about 
four hundred houses, then recently abandoned to escape the fury of a relent- 
less soldiery. Having plundered the houses, they set fire to the town, and 
reduced it to ashes. To this wanton waste of property, unknown to civilized 
nations, they were prompted the better to conceal their approach under 
cover of the smoke. A shocking mixture of cowardice and cruelty, which 
then first tarnished the lustre of the British arms, when aimed at a brother's 
breast! But, blessed be God, they were restrained from committing further 
ravages, by the loss of a very considerable part of their army, including 
many of their most experienced officers. The loss of the inhabitants was 
inconsiderable. 

Compelled, therefore, to behold the thousands of our countrymen 
imprisoned, and men, women and children involved in promiscuous and 
unmerited misery! When we find all faith at an end, and sacred treaties 
turned into tricks of State; when we perceive our friends and kinsmen mas- 
sacred, our habitations plundered, our houses in flames, and their once 
happy inhabitants fed only by the hand of charity; who can blame us for 
endeavouring to restrain the progress of desolation? Who can censure our 
repelling the attacks of such a barbarous band? Who, in such circumstances 
would not obey the great, the universal, the divine law of self-preservation? 

Though vilified as wanting spirit, we are determined to behave like 
men. Though insulted and abused, we wish for reconciliation. Though 
defamed as seditious, we are ready to obey the laws. And though charged 
with rebellion, will cheerfully bleed in defence of our Sovereign in a righteous 
cause. What more can we say? What more can we offer? 

But we forbear to trouble you with a tedious detail of the various and 
fruitless offers and appHcations we have repeatedly made, not for pensions, 
wealth, or for honors, but for the humble boon of being permitted to possess 
the fruits of honest industry, and to enjoy that degree of Liberty, to which 
God and the Constitution have given us an undoubted right. 

Blessed with indissoluble union, with a variety of internal resources, 
and with a firm rehance on the justice of the Supreme Disposer of all human 
events, we have no doubt of rising superior to all the machinations of evil 
and abandoned Ministers. We already anticipate the golden period, when 
Liberty, with all the gentle arts of peace and humanity, shall establish her 
mild dominion in this western world, and erect eternal monuments to the 
memory of those virtuous patriots and martyrs, who shall have fought and 
bled and suffered in her cause 

Accept our most grateful acknowledgement for the friendly disposition 
you have always shown towards us. We know that you are not without 
your grievances. We sympathize with you in your distress, and are pleased 
to find that the design of subjugating us, has persuaded administration to 
dispense to Ireland, some vagrant rays of ministerial sunshine. 

Even the tender mercies of government have long been cruel towaids 
you. In the rich pastures of Ireland, many hungry parricides have fed, 
and grown strong to labour in its destruction. We hope the patient abiding 
of the meek may not always be forgotten; and God grant that the iniquitous 
schemes of extirpating liberty from the British Empire may soon be defeated. 
But we should be wanting to ourselves — we should be perfidious to posterity 
— we should be unworthy that ancestry from which we derive our descent, 
should we submit, with folded arms, to mihtary butchery and depredation, 

[113] 



to gratify the lordly ambition, or sate the avarice of a British Ministry. In 
defence of our persons and properties, under actual violation, we have taken 
up arms; when that violence shall be removed, and hostilities shall cease 
on the part of the aggressors, they shall cease on our part also. For the 
achievement of this happy event, we confide in the good offices of our 
fellow-subjects beyond the Atlantic. Of their friendly disposition, we do 
not yet despond; aware, as they must be, that they have nothing more to 
expect from the same common enemy, than the humble favour of being 
last devoured. 

By Order of the Congress, 

John Hancock, President. 



11141 



EXHIBITS 



EXHIBITS 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

A. Irish Republican Leaders Address to the President and Congress, U.S.A. 

B. Gaelic Text of Sinn Fein Election Manifesto (1918). 

C. English Translation of (B). 

D. Proclamation to Citizens of the Republic of Ireland resident in America. 

E. Ireland's Declaration of Independence by Dail Eireann, 

F. Ireland's Message to the Nations. 

G. Ireland's Democratic Program. 

H. Ireland Claims Admission as Constituent Member of a League of Nations. 

I, Ireland's position under Article X of the Covenant of the League of 
Nations. 

J. Irish Government Expresses Readiness to Participate in a World League 
of Nations. 

K. Presidential Statement of Governmental Policy. 

L. Ireland Repudiates Britain's Claim to Speak or Act in the Name of the 
Irish Nation. 

M. Ireland's Delegates to Peace Conference Formally Intimate their Readi- 
ness to Participate in Discussions Relative to the Foundation of a 
World League. 

N. Ireland's Delegates Submit Claim for Recognition of Ireland as Inde- 
pendent Sovereign State. 

0. Ireland's Case for Independence Submitted to the Peace Conference. 

P. The Irish Congress Votes Thanks to the Senate of the U. S. (Gaelic text). 

Q. English Translation of (P). 

R. The Irish President Repudiates British Ambassador's Claim to Repre- 
sent Ireland in the U. S. 

S. The Irish Envoy Protests the Atrocities of the British in Ireland. 

[116] 



Exhibit A] 



Address from Irish Republican Leaders 

To the President and Congress of the United States 

Dublin, Ireland, June 18, 1917. 
Gentlemen: 

We, the undersigned, who have been held in English prisons and have been dragged 
from dungeon to dungeon, in heavy chains, cut off, since Easter Week, 1916, from all 
intercourse with the outside world, have just had an opportunity of seeing the printed 
text of the message of the United States of America to the Provisional Government of 
Russia. 

We see that the President accepts as the aim of both countries "the carrying of 
the present struggle for the freedom of all peoples to a successful consummation." 
We, also, see that the object of President Wilson's own government is "the liberation 
of peoples everywhere from the aggressions of autocratic force." "We are fighting," 
writes the President to the Government of Russia, "for the liberty, self-government, 
and undictated development of all peoples, and every feature of the settlement that 
concludes this war must be conceived and executed for that purpose. Wrongs must 
first be righted, and then adequate safeguards must be created to prevent their being 
committed again. Remedies must be found as well as statements of principle that 
will have a pleasing and sonorous sound * * * No people must be forced under 
a sovereignty under which it does not wish to live." 

We trust that such remedies — in preference to any governmental professions 
whatsoever — will be held to include the right of each people, not merely to rely on 
other peoples to support their claim to national liberty, but what the Governments 
and peoples of other nations will, we trust, regard as even more sacred, the right of 
each people to defend itself against external aggression, external interference and 
external control. It is this particular right that we claim for the Irish people, and not 
content with statements of principle, though these themselves may be made a pretext 
for our oppression, we are engaged and mean to engage ourselves in practical means 
for establishing this right. 

Without awaiting the issue of the war or the settlement that may conclude the 
war, we ask of the Government of the United States of America, and the Governments 
of the free peoples of the world, to take immediate measures to inform themselves 
accurately and on the spot about the extent of liberty or attempted repression which 
we may encounter. 

We, the undersigned, are officers (just released from English prisons) of forces 
formed independently in Ireland to secure the complete liberation of the Irish Nation. 

(Signed) Eamon de Valera; Eoin MacNeill; Denis O'Callaghan; James Lawless; 
Robert Brennan; M. D. DeLacy; Finian Lynch; Francis Fahy; Thomas Hunter; John 
R. Etchingham; Ricl^ard F. King; John McEntee; Richard Hayes; James Doyle; 
Peter Galligan; Thomas Ashe; Jeremiah C. Lynch; Richard Coleman; George Irvine; 
Con. Collins; Austin Stack; John McGarry; T. Desmond Fitzgerald; Francis Thornton; 
Frank Lawless; James J. Walsh. 

(The above letter to President Wilson was signed by the officers whose names 
are appended thereto on the day of their arrival in Ireland, following release from 
English prisons in which they had been incarcerated since Easter Week, 1916. It 
was brought to the United States by Dr. Patrick McCartan, Envoy of the Irish 
Republic, and was publicly received at the Capitol by Secretary Tumulty). 

[117] 



A 



An mon=co5A'D peismi 



6alrm$collc do mi)uintlr na l)€)reanti. 

t1 CO5A m6n peiSmi aei CoSjmn, B.Miie.mn re so TlUif leir Jr rooS*l 4C.li iTi.tn Tion lUipiin iM" -vm Le c.iCr Oett. ,jii Cgifc 
U |i6f«cei« dj muincip" na) hSipe^nn , «n coil leO 4 tjcIh 4 Oeit j|i bcrtaC M.^ r.^oipre no t Beil «n ii.>rc sa uefl jj impifejcc tt 
niji ?is riarh T)t pion ip ^p T)cpti6 le Imn j peime aC «n c-olc nsup jn c-jn; i\ 

CA CiOtadilaCC t)« t4»«ipc anoif «5 luCc " Sltltl V61II" ,30 ri'lMtlcm tlA lieine<\llll Cun CUl rn cire Tio (or.>i"c .ijiir U»rm..Mrr 5.0 muinjiii 
ip oejla* 4 le«r<s. «P Bejlat ns pooipre, fe Bpic^ij S.^op■vlaJ.^lco^l im heipeonn- 

Be C. Ce^pcuijee ij Sinn vein, ti'fonn ,mi Sjop-pi.\J«lCir <"> '"O tJCaipc Cun Oaile n*:— 

1 5^" copCAipi 6ipinn T)o Cup go T)ci pApUimenc Sap^"*; -sgup^d peunjti 50 tyml ve (ie*pc n4 «e teire.iv .'5 Ui.\gjlcjr S-t*"'^ "^ *S 
Hi«$alc4r ior'»<ica cue -oUSte vo titimrh to tlluincip n* Ii6ipe«nn ajup tup ina scoinnio -oi p*ip. 

oibpe T>jp rei-Dip A Cup 1 Bpei«ni Cim com««c S-ipana T)0 Cope jp 6inc tmeiv fi rm-'Cc If ntigejn i 

V TD,(a T)o Cup 4p bun -oe topciipl J tosvAiO n« cejnnc.Mp pipl^imenceiij 1 nfiipmn ; e ti^bdlpc t)'uST>jp.ir ^0" t).(a uf fop f "' npe 
le labaipc 1 n-«inm on naiplUm ^sup 6e*pcj «eun«rti TJi pSip , ijup, e Cup Tie Cupam «p jn ntl.lil lit) niuincip in u$iro.<nn T>o I'up o 
leap 1 jcappal poilicloi;c<>, ciupciil, mooine, ijup 5n.ic.p4oSil uj nTjooine. 

4 eile»m «p in sCori,«iSil SlotiinA niipiiin neirtippleatiAt « Oeun^im ■o'eipmn. SocpSpjp, pi Cortitiil pin, c<it) c in piojii <icJ 1 noiii vo njipiun 
in Dortiiin T)0 peip n« buncuiipme peo, 1. jupb e ceiu na noioine ip buniip le UiiSalcip op |bit UppfaimiD oppa an Buncujipim pin 
Cup 1 nsniorii 1 ncaoB n« li&pcinn ijup nl hftinniO nui tx) Cuic imiC paCosa* tp cuip leip an lappacap pan. Ip pia aca Cipe ag It 
na paoippe ni fopiSiOp na niipiiln azi r^^ cpoit) anoip— n<j t»v 50 tCip bV^icip. CiliSmlu an cpaoippe oppa coipc a TSIlpe Cl«oi«riap 
nip niipiuncaCc 1 scoriinuiOe ptarti , coipc .Ip naonnaCta , coipc ceanja asup leijeann ajup piapat) ajup cpCite •niipiiinca pt leit a BeiC 
bainc linn ; coipc mipmSe ajup mOpJla muinncipe na lifiipeann ajup iat> as cup 1 scoinniB cumainscaip na njall ; coipc jup ^ipij na lidipeann^ 
aiTjaC le neapc apm Ciiis uaipc 1 scaiCeaifi 120 re BliancaiB t)o JaB Capainn aj cup puap T)0 Ceapc Sapana Cun in tip peo va pnia<c4. ! 
laB na nltiCe a Cuipeann 1 scputartinap \>o tiC gup Ceapc ajup jup trnal T>o tlluincip na hgipeann Beit na naipion neartippleitlaC. 

til ap CaoB npeam poiUcioCca aci luCt iiintl V^'" '^ «r CaoB an naipiiim. 56 an bunup id le Sinn fein na pcana rPP"> "■» ni.pii 
caCca Tjo puaipeamap « n-ip peaCc pinnpoapaiB. gaOann luCc Smn fSin piipc leip an nsaipmpcoile t)0 Cuip an UiaSalcar SeaUT)aC amac Seai 
Tn<nn na Capca, 1M9A0A f»saipc con paojal gup ceapc tio- nal^■Dl! na heipeanii BeiC neamppleaoac, paop o Ceannpmacc lapacta t)a Ceap 
.50 palB muincip na liGipeann lin-CeapCa ap an iicamppleatiCap x)0 Bainc ainaC ; ajup as wiL 1 n-uppuBaip aip 50 BpaSat) SJC eipeannoC cOip ajup cocp: 
uliJcB'n Saop-tliaSalcap. 

O'p leip TSOinn sup itnCit) ceat> a CaBaipc no Ihuinncip na ngipeannn ap a Ticuaip™ V'pi""eaC ap Saoippe na neipeann 00 Cup 1 n.ui*i 
t)o'n c'paojal san cuiitinearti ap leap aon aicnic pC leic Cap leap an njipiOin, ci pooaip aj luCc Sinn pcin Cup 1 scoinniB jac itioaip peipipe ni s^icft 
leip an mbuncuaiiMfll pin. 

nil ceapc n'i caipBe as bainc leip an obaip aca beapcuiJCe as an aicme poilicloCca aca as lomaiS Imn. On r.couip ajup e ftlije 
Cipc a SeiBinn najpion ceiTjiol Cun Beic paop. asup nl p*iT)ip an teiTHOl pin tjo Bainc TiioB le niapsa« ni le connpa*. «on lappacc' a 0«un| 
Cun ceiTnoL n a niipiUncaCca T)0*lol ap an bpingin ip aoipne, nl Ciocpai-6 ap aC mi-a^ ip cubatpc. till as*inn T)e BJpp o>9pe na haicme poiltcio£ 
00 it iniipce na milium 00 Cuait) tap leap fiipinn, meaCalu snCt^l ciapcall, ajup c.lnaCa cpoma ac4 as cpeaca* na nTiaoi.ne agup as pli 
C»ul I m*n>. An CCaTi ^ipeannaC vo pl^i* cuip na neipeann 1 opaiplimenc Sapana, T>'eili$ pe "4\CSaipm an Ceansail" (Repeal) oppa ; Bi an ceile. 
as T)ul 1 luiJeaT) pin 1 leiC so T>cl sup Sl-^c*T)ap so buiOeaC beannaCcaC leip an tleaCc "ncme Ilule' asup T)o CoHiSeatiap Cun leac T>e ' tOije lit 
Tin Beijilc « niajalcap na nSipeann asup C pJsainc pC pmaCc gallTja 

An aicme Ot) vo riieap ttluincip na hSipeann vo Ceangal, T)'eipeaball Sapana 1 5<;uppai an Cosaiti peo, nil aon ceapc aca LaBaipc ap p 
niuincip'^ na nftipeann, till Tie ceapc as «in Tipeam 'ac artiain as Uiajalcap 00 toiB mumctp na cipe ceipc cosaiO no plotCana 00 rocpO con niipi 
"Oo rtialatpuiS na peipipi UT) bpacaC na ngaeiOe^l ap Bpacatg na ngall. t)loTi a inilleAn ap tiluincip na nfiipeann iniV'-i'^ leo leaninaint 
Kelt as cup copcaipl so tic\pjpUimeiic na nj^all, aic Ti'p^s a pian ap na Tiaoine a CuaiC ann, t)0 Bain T>a n-ionnpalCeap agup no liiiu a nea 
ppleA-OCap. ni mdp T)'6ipinn Tipuim laniie CaBaipc leip na peapaiB T)o| rtieap a nT)ualsap naipiUm tio tilol leip an nariiaiT 
Cpuinne san BpiSO neaCcaipl Jallwa; asup sup C6tp oppa piu coriiUonaO na nseallriiainc Ti'fiil. 



nil mpiia TCiprl * t4i<>eann 4 Cipeann 50 paplaimenc Sapana pe tataip it ceap cuiple ap an mbealac pe tern na Comt>aia SioCcana. 
mOp iiaT) T)o Cup ap leatcaoiB. 'Se a poja Gipe BeiC'n-a cuise, in ipnat) Claoi lena ceapc niipiOncaCca CusaiT) pian an c-aon leiCpceul iit\i 
aca ag Sapana Cun an t)uB t>0 Cup n-a Seal ap nAipiOnaiB an Tioniain. na liiappaCcai vo TieineaTiap Cuti pip oga na neipeann vo nieall, 
Cun saBaiL le hapm Sapana, an jleup a Cimeitiann 6ipt pe pmaCc. lappaCcal a B'ea-0 iaT> Cun a Bpuil pasta Tie neapc lonamn v<, cup ap Ce^ 
nd vo Cup I Bpeitim t scotiiniB an niipiOin. 

CaimlT) as caBaipc ajaiti ap lilOpItoSaT) Veipip' asup saC sl-eup ajup peivo Tjip pC-itiip le namaiT) Claon Coniacc.vC iimneam jip 04, Ci 
I BveiOm opainn. Cuiseann Hiajalcap Sapana S"P pCiTiip le InCc Sinn-):ein paoippe Bainc amaC B'eipinn , aSup ip mian leo uT) tio Cup 1 
Coip. AC ca muingln asainn ap tfluincip n.\ tifiipeann. so sclaoi«FiT) ^I.^T) leip in peanaCuip, 50 T)CaBappi« piac a nSutanna oopnj reapaiB 
CaoBuiJeann cuaipiml Oolp CeCn, emmet. Seam rilipceul, piopaic tilic pupaip ajup Seumaip HI Conjaile— na pip su|> 1<S I-*" ''eiC as lappai 
oeiflce ap a nJiliaiT), fta pip aTjeip s" Scaitpi* Sipe l>eit Corn paop ceuTina le Sapana, le Cip-pO-tuinn, leip an eil»«ip. n« leip an BVpair 
na pip a Cuippi* i nuriiail T)On paojal supab « Oa Tiual Tion peanatip peo na Beit na naipuin paop asup nip tjual 01 a malaipc. 



Atl snAC-coniAlrAf T>e Sinn pein vo cm 
An SAifimfcoile j'eo o>ni<xc. 

[118] 



exhibit C] 

[Photographic reproduction of translation of Election Manifesto] 

GENERAL ELECTION. 

n^atijfesto to tfte Irish People. 

CHE coining General Election is fraught with vital possibiUties for the future of our nation. Ireland is faced with the 
question whether this generation wills it that she is to march ouf into the full sunlight of freedom, or is to remain 
in the shadow of a base imperialism that has brought and ever will bring in its train naught but evil for our race. 

Sinn Fein gives Ireland the opportunity of vmdicating her honour and pursuing with renewed confidence the path of 
latiooal salvation by rallying to the flag of the Irish Republic; 

Sinn Fein aims at securing the establishment of that Republic. 

t. By withdrawing the Irish Representation from the British Parliament and by denying the right and opposing the will 
of the British Government or any other foreign Government to legislate for Ireland. 

i. By making use of any and every means available to rendes impotent the power of England to hold Ireland in subjection 
by military force or otherwise. 

|. By the establishment of a constituent assembly comprising persons chosen by Irish constituencies as the supreme 
national authority to speak and act in the name of the Irish people, and to develop Ireland's social, political and in- 
dustrial life, for the welfare of the whole people of Ireland. 

^ By appealing to the Peace Conference for the establishment of Ireland as an Independent Nation. At that conference 
the future of the Nations of the world will be settled on the principle of government by consent bfthe governed. 
Ireland s claim to the application of. that principle in her favour is not based on any accidental situation arising from 
the war. It is older than many if not all of the present belligerents. It is based on our unbroken tradition of nation- 
hood, on a unity in a national name which has never been challenged, on our possession of a distinctive national 
culture and social order, on the moral courage and dignity of Our people in the face of alien aggression, on the fact 
that in nearly every generation, and five times within the past i2oyearsour people have challenged in arms the right 
of England to rule this country On these incontrovertible facts is based the claim that our people have beyond 
question established the right to be accorded all the power of a free nation. 

Sinn Fein stands less for a political party than for the Nation ; it represents the old tradition of nationhood handed on 
rom dead generations ; it stands by the Proclamation of tha Provisional Government of Easter, 1916, reasserting the 
nalienable right of the Irish Nation to sovereign independence: reaffirming the determination of the Irish people to 
ichieve it, and guaranteeing!; within the independent Natioji equal rig-ht^ and equal opporturities to all its citizens,.. 

Believing that the time has arrived ivhen Ireland's voice for the principle of untrammelled National self-determination 
should be heard above every interest of party or class, Sinn Fein will oppose at the Polls every individual candidate who 
loes not accept this. principle. 

The policy of our opponents stands (:ondemned on any test, whether of principle or expediency. The right of a nation to 
sovereign independence rests upon immutable natural law and cannot be made the subject of a compromise. Any attempt 
to barter away the sacred and inviolate rights of a nationhood begins in'dishonoiirand is bound to end in disaster The 
enforced exodus of millions of our people, the decay of our industrial life, the ev6r-increasing financial plunder of our 
country the whittling down of the demand for the " Repeal of the Union," voiced by the first Irish Leaderte plead in the 
Hall of the Conqueror to that of Home Rule on the Statute Book, and finally the contemplated mutilation of our country 
by partition, are some of the ghastly results of a policy that leads to national ruin. 

Those who have endeavoured to harness the people of Ireland to England's war-chariot, ignoring the fact that only a 
freely-elected Government in a free Ireland has power to decide for Ireland the question of peace and war. have forfeited 
the right to speak for the Irish people. The Green Flag turneri red in the hands of the Leaders, but that shame is not to be 
laid at the doors of the Irish people unless they continue a poliqy of sending their representatives to an alien and hostile 
assembly, whose powerful influence has been sufficient to destroy the integrity and sap the independence of their repre- 
sentatives Ireland must repudiate the men who, in a supreme crisis for the nation, attempted to sell her birthright for 
the vague promises of English Ministers, and who showed their incompetence by failing to have even these proiifises 
fulfilled 

The present Irish members nf the English Parliament constitute an obstacle to be removed from the path that leads to 
the Peace Conference By declaring their will to c^ccept the sOtus of a province instead of boldly.taking their stond upon, 
the right oi the nation they supply Englaiid v, .th the only subterluge at her disposal for obstunng the issue m the eyes of the world. 
By their persistent endeavoui: to induce the youngmanhoo^i of Ireland to don the uniform of our seven-century-old oppressor, and 
place their lives at the disposal of the military machine that holds our Nation in bondage, they endeavour to barter away and even to 
use against itself the one great asset still left to our Nation alter the havoc of centuries. 

Sinn Fein goes to the polls handicapped bj all the arts and contrivances that a powerful and unscrupulous enemy can use against us. 
Conscious of the power of Sinn Fein to secure the freedom of Ireland the British Government would destroy it. Sinn Fein, however, 
goes 10 the polls confident that the people of this ancient nation will be true to the old cause and will vote foi the men who s'aqd by 
the principles of Tone, Emmet Mitchell. Pearse and Connolly, the men who disdain to whine to the onemy for favours, the men who 
hold that Ireland must be as free as England or Holland, or Switzerland or France, and whose demand is that the only status befitting 
»his ancient r^alm l.^ Lh« status of a free nation 

ISSUED BY THE STANDING COMMTITEE OF SINN FEIN. 

[119] 



[Exhibit D] 



grorlamatton 



To the Citizens of the Republic of Ireland Who Are at Present Resident in the 
United States and Canada: 

Fellow Citizens: As Envoy of the Provisional Government of Ireland, to me has 
fallen the great happiness of conveying officially to you that the people of Ireland have,, 
before the watching eyes of the whole world, finally achieved the Independence of Ireland. 
In the elections which took place on December 14 last, Ireland exercised her right of Self- 
Determination. The question which the Irish people were then called on to decide was: 
"Shsdl or shall not Britain continue to govern Ireland?" 

Ireland was occupied by an English army; the Irish Republican leaders were incarcer- 
ated in English jails; our meetings were proclaimed and our press effectively silenced; the 
first Director whom we appointed to conduct the Republican election campaign was ar- 
rested and his headquarters raided; the same fate overtook in turn each one who succeeded 
him; and, in brief, every device which imperial ingenuity could conceive was used to prevent 
the free expression of the electoral will. Nevertheless when the result was revealed on 
December 28, it was unequivocally demonstrated that the people of Ireland had determined 
that Britain shall not continue to govern Ireland; and that the population of Ireland, by 
more than two-thirds majority, had finally severed such connection of Ireland with England 
as force and chicanery had maintained for seven centuries. 

December 28, 1918, will forever rank in the history of Ireland as July 4, ITTO.remksin 
the history of America; as July 14, 1789, ranks in the history of France, as the day of the 
birth of Liberty ranks in the history of every free people. The free people of Ireland now 
take their place among the free peoples of the world, "with malice towards none, with 
charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives to us to see the right." 

The free and independent people of Ireland hold out the hand of fellowship to all the 
free and subject peoples of the world. We feel special kinship with the peoples of France 
and of Belgium, so lately freed from the usurping power of military might. The wrongs 
of the people of Russia, Poland and Palestine we feel as our wrongs; and we shall afford 
what aid we can to right them. We are conscious and mindful of the friendliness of the 
British Labor Party towards Ireland and our sympathies go out to the people of England 
in their gallant struggle to withstand the Junkerdom that prevails there against them. The 
Irish people are not at war with any people nor do they contemplate any act of aggression 
against any foreign Government, but they will not suffer the destiny of Ireland, as now 
determined by the free will of the Irish people, to be warped or thwarted by any selfish 
Power or by any group of such Powers. We shall be party to no Governmental league of 
which the avowed or disguised purpose is contrary to the principles of freedom and justice 
to all peoples, great and small. We desire no friends except the friends of liberty and right; 
we recognize no enemies except the enemies of justice and fair dealing. We shall cooperate 
with all our strength and with all our mind in any union of free peoples for the preservation 
of peace and good will throughout the world and for the advancement of the common 
welfare of mankind. 

It is a matter for congratulation to all Irishmen that the final and complete vindication 
of Irish Nationhood by the Irish people has been achieved without bloodshed. To Ireland 
is thus given the honor of affording the first sign of the new world order — of the right of all 
peoples peacefully to determine their national destiny. On behalf of the Provisional 
Government of Ireland, I call upon the Irish people in America and Canada, and upon the 
friends of Liberty in this great Republic, to rejoice and be glad with Ireland in this, the day 
of her victory and to be ready and strong to aid the Irish Republic, lest it be overwhelmed 
l)y the imperial forces that are even now gathered to destroy it. 

Patrick McCartan, 

Envoy of the Provisional Government of Ireland. 
Philadelphia, December 30, 1918. 

[120] 



[Exhibit E] 

Ireland's Declaration of Independence 

Proclaimed by Dail Eireann, at Dublin, Ireland 

January 21, 1919 

[Translation] 

Whereas the Irish people is by right a free people; 

And Whereas for seVen hundred years the Irish people has never ceased to repudiate 
and has repeatedly protested in arms against foreign usurpation; 

And Whereas English rule in this covmtry is, and has always been, based upon force 
and fraud and maintained by miUtary occupation against the declared will of the people; 

And Whereas the Irish Repubhc was proclaimed in Dublin on Easter Monday, 1916, 
by the Irish Republican Army acting on behalf of the Irish people ; 

And Whereas the Irish people is resolved to secure and maintain its complete inde- 
pendence in order to promote the common weal, to re-establish justice, to provide for future 
defence, to insure peace at home and good will with all nations and to constitute a national 
policy based upon the people's will with equal right and equal opportunity for every citizen; 

And Whereas at the threshold of a new era in history the Irish electorate has in the 
General Election of December, 1918, seized the first occasion to declare by an overwhelm- 
ing majority its firm allegiance to the Irish Republic: 

Now, Therefore, we, the elected Representatives of the ancient Irish people in 
national Parliament assembled, do, in the name of the Irish Nation ratify the establishment 
of the Irish Republic and pledge ourselves and our people to make this Declaration effective 
by every means at our command. 

We ordain that the elected Representatives of the Irish people alone have power to 
make laws binding on the people of Ireland, and that the Irish Parliament is the only 
Parliament to which that people will give its allegiance. 

We solemnly declare foreign Government in Ireland to be an invasion of our national 
right which we will never tolerate, and we demand the evacuation of our country by the 
English Garrison: 

We claim for our national independence the recognition and support of every free 
nation of the world and we proclaim that independence to be a condition precedent to inter- 
national peace hereafter : 

In the name of the Irish People we humbly commit our destiny to Almighty God who 
gave our fathers the courage and determination to persevere through long centuries of a 
ruthless tyranny, and strong in the justice of the cause which they have handed down to us, 
we ask His Divine blessing on this, the last stage of the struggle which we have pledged 
ourselves to carry through to Freedom. 



[Exhibit F] 

Ireland's Message to the Nations 

[Translation] 

To the Nations of the WoRLD^Greefmsr: 

The Nation of Ireland having proclaimed her national independence, calls, through her 
elected representatives in Parliament assembled in the Irish Capital on January 21, 1919, 
upon every free nation to support the Irish Republic by recognizing Ireland's national 
status and her right to its vindication at the Peace Congress. 

Naturally, the race, the language, the customs and traditions of Ireland are radically 
distinct from the English. Ireland is one of the most ancient nations in Europe, and she 
has preserved her national integrity, vigorous and intact, through seven centuries of foreign 
oppression: she has never relinquished her national rights, and throughout the long era of 
English usurpation she has in every generation defiantly proclaimed her inalienable right 
of nationhood down to her last glorious resort to arms in 1916. 

[121] 



InternalionaJly, Ireland is the gateway to the Atlantic; Ireland is the last outpost of 
Europe towards the West; Ireland is the point upon which great trade routes between East 
and West converge; her independence is demanded by the Freedom of the Seas; her great 
harbours must be open to all nations, instead of being the monopoly of England. Today 
these harbours are empty and idle solely because English policy is determined to retain 
Ireland as a barren bulwark for English aggrandisement, and the unique geographical 
position of this island, far from being a benefit and safeguard to Europe and America, is 
subjected to the purposes of England's policy of world domination. 

Ireland today reasserts her historic nationhood the more confidently before the new 
world emerging from the war, because she believes in freedom and justice as the funda- 
mental principles of international law; because she believes in a frank cooperation between 
the peoples for equal rights against the vested privileges of ancient tyrannies; because the 
permanent peace of Europe can never be secured by perpetuating»military dominion for the 
profit of empire but only by estabhshing the control of government in every land upon the 
basis of the free will of a free people, and the existing state of war, between Ireland and 
England, can never be ended until Ireland is defmitely evacuated by the armed forces of 
England. 

For these among other reasons, Ireland — resolutely and irrevocably determined at the 
dawn of the promised era of self-determination and liberty that she will suffer foreign dominion 
no longer — calls upon every free nation to uphold her national claim to complete independ- 
ence as an Irish Republic against the arrogant pretensions of England founded in fraud 
and sustained only by an overwhelming military occupation, and demands to be confronted 
publicly with England at the Congress of the Nations, that the civilized world having 
judged between English wrong and Irish right may guarantee to Ireland its permanent 
support for the maintenance of her national independence. 

Mansion House, Dublin, Ireland, 21 January, i9i9. 



[Exhibit G] 

Ireland's Democratic Program Proclaimed 
by Dail Eireann 

We declare in the words of the Irish republican proclamation the right of the people 
of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland and to the unfettered control of Irish destinies to 
be indefeasible, and in the language of our first president, Padraic Pearse, we declare 
that the nation's sovereignty extends not only to all men and women of the nation, but to 
all its material possessions; the nation's soil and aU its resources, all the wealth and all the 
wealth-producing processes within the nation; and with him we re-affirm that all rights 
to private property must be subordinated to the public right and welfare. 

We declare that we desire our country to be ruled in accordance with the principles 
of Liberty, Equality, and Justice for all, which alone can secure permanence of govern- 
ment in the willing adhesion of the people. 

We affirm the duty of every man and woman to give allegiance and service to the 
commonwealth, and declare it is the duty of the nation to assure that every citizen shall 
have opportunity to spend his or her strength and faculties in the service of the people. 
In return for wiffing service, we, in the name of the republic, declare the right of every 
citizen to an adequate share of the produce of the nation's labor. 

It shall be the first duty of the government of the republic to make provision for the 
physical, mental, and spiritual well-being of the children, to secure that no child shall 
suffer hunger or cold from lack of food or clothing or shelter, but that all shall be provided 
with the means and facilities requisite for their proper education and training as citizens of 
a free and Gaelic Ireland. 

The Irish Republic fuUy realizes the necessity of abolishing the present odious, de- 
grading, and foreign poor law system, substituting therefor a sympathetic native scheme 
for the care of the nation's aged and infirm, who shall no longer be regarded as a burden, 
but rather entitled to the nation's gratitude and consideration. Likewise it shall be the 
duty of the Republic to take measures that will safeguard the health of the people and ensure 
the physical as well as the moral well-being of the nation. 

[122] 



It shall be our duty to promote the development of the nation's resources, to increase 
the productivity of the soil, to exploit its mineral deposits, peat bogs, and fisheries, its 
waterways and harbors, in the interest and for the benefit of the Irish people. 

It shall be the duty of the republic to adopt all measures necessary for the re-creation 
and mvigoration of our industries, and to ensure their being developed on the most bene- 
ficial and progressive cooperative industrial lines. With the adoption of an extensive 
Irish consular service, trade with foreign nations shall be revived on terms of mutual 
advantage and good will; while undertaking the organization of the nation's trade, import 
and export, it shall be the duty of the Republic to prevent the shipment from Ireland of 
food and other necessaries until the wants of the Irish people are fully satisfied and the 
future provided for. 

It shall devolve upon the national government to seek the cooperation of the govern- 
ments of other countries in determining a standard of social and industrial legislation with 
a view to a general and lasting improvement in the conditions under which the working 
classes live and labor. 

Mansion House, Dubinin, Ireland, 2/ January, i919. 



[Exhibit H] 

The Irish Repubhcan Delegate at Paris Claims Admission of 

Ireland as Constituent Member of a 

League of Nations 

;[To Premier Clemenceau and all the Peace Conference delegates.] 

Paris, February 22, 1919. 

Sir: As the accredited envoy of the Government of the Irish Republic, I have the 
honor to bring to your notice the claim of my Government, in the name of the Irish nation, 
for the international recognition of the independence of Ireland, and for the admission of 
Ireland as a constituent member of the League of Nations. 

The Irish people seized the opportunity of the general election of December, 1918, 
to declare unmistakably its national will; only in 26 (out of 105) constituencies of the country 
was England able to find enough "loyalists" to return members favorable to the union lae- 
tween Ireland and Great Britain ; for the remaining 79 seats the electors chose as members 
men who believed in self-determination; of these, 73, who now represent an immense 
majority of the people, went forward as republican candidates, and each of these republican 
members has pledged to assert by every means in his power the right of Ireland to the com- 
plete independence which she demands, under a national republican government, free from 
all English interference. 

On the 21st of January, 1919, those of the Republicsm members whom England bad 
not yet cast into her prisons met in the Irish capital in a national assembly, to which, as 
the only Irish Parliament de jure, they had summoned all Irish members of Parliament; 
on the same day the national assembly uneuiimously voted the declaration of independence 
appended hereto and unanimously issued the message to the free nations likewise appended. 

The national assembly has also caused detailed statement of the case of Ireland to 
be drawn up; that statement will demonstrate that the right of Ireland to be considered a 
nation admits of no denial, and, moreover, that that right is inferior in no respect to that 
of the new states constituted in Europe and recognized since the war; three members, 
Eamon de Valera, Mr. Arthur Griffith and Count Plunkett, have been delegated by the 
national assembly to present the statement to the Peace Congress and to the League of 
Nations Commission in the name of the Irish people. 

Accordingly, I have the honor, sir, to beg you to be good enough to fix a date to receive 
the delegates above named, who are anxious for the earliest possible opportunity to estab- 
lish formally and definitely before the Peace Conference and the League of Nations Com- 
mission, now assembled in Paris, Ireland's indisputable right to international recognition 
for her independence and the propriety of her claim to enter the League of Nations as one 
of its constituent members. 



I have the honor to be, sir. 

Your obedient servant, 



Sean T. O'Kelly, 
Delegate of the Government of the Irish Republic. 

[123] 



[Exhibit 1] 

Irish Republican Delegate at Paris Makes Clear Ireland's 

Position Under Article X of the Draft Covenant 

of the League of Nations 

[To Premier Clemenceau and all the Peace Conference delegates.] 

Paris, March 31, i919. 

Sir: On behalf of the Irish nation, whose accredited representative I am, I beg to 
draw your attention, and through you the attention of the peace conference, to the follow- 
ing statement with regard to Ireland: 

Ireland is a nation which has exercised the right of self-determination in harmony 
with principles formulated by President Wilson and accepted by the belligerents as the 
only sure foundation for a world peace. It is not only in the past that Ireland, generation 
after generation, has striven by force of arms as well as by all pacific means to regain her 
national freedom. At the general election last December the issue, and the only issue, 
placed before the Irish people was the independence of their country, and by a majority 
of more than three to one the representatives elected by the constitutional machinery of 
the ballot box are pledged to the abolition of English rule in Ireland. In none of the small 
nationalities with which the peace conference has hitherto occupied itself is the unanimity 
of the people so great; in none has the national desire for freedom been so great; in none 
has the desire for freedom been asserted so unmistakably and with so much emphasis. 
Following upon the general election, an Irish national assembly has met; an Irish Republic 
has been constituted and proclaimed to the world; a president has been appointed, and with 
him ministers to direct different departments of state; a program of domestic policy has 
been issued; smd an appeal has been addressed to the nations of the world to recognize the 
free Irish State that has thus been recalled to life. But while the national will has been 
declared and the mechanism of free government is ready, the former is being stifled and the 
latter paralyzed by England's ruthless exercise of military power. The president is a 
fugitive; the Irish Parliament is forced to conduct its business in secret; the most elementary 
civil rights are abrogated; courts-martial are sitting at every center; and the gaols are filled 
with prisoners, victims of every brutality and indignity, whose only offense is that they have 
sought the freedom of their native land. It is in these circumstances that the Irish nation, 
through me, addresses the Peace Conference. 

Ireland manifestly comes within the scope of the principles that have been indorsed 
by the civilized nations, and it is for the application of these principles that the Peace 
Conference is now sitting. Ireland is weak; England is strong. Ireland in every possible 
way has asserted her right to freedom, wliich England, by sheer militarism, is intent now 
as always in the past to destroy. It is only by the exercise of tyrannical power that Ireland's 
right to freedom can be denied. It is to the great principle of national freedom, represented 
and embodied in the Peace Conference, that Ireland, exhausted by the cruelties of English 
rule, her population annihilated by one-half within living memory, her industries destroyed, 
her natural resources wasted, her civil liberties ended, her chosen leaders proscribed and 
treated as felons, now makes her appeal. 

Article 10 of the draft Covenant of the League of Nations is framed to secure national 
independence against the aggression of an external power. Its terms are as follows: 

"The high contracting powers undertake to respect and preserve as against external 
aggression the territorial integrity and existing political independence of all States members 
of the League. In case of any aggression or in case of any threat or danger of such aggres- 
sion the executive council shall advise upon the means by which this obligation shall be 
fulfilled." 

Ireland, as a nation that has declared its independence and is pledged to the principles 
of freedom, justice, and peace, desires to subscribe to the covenant of the League and to 
claim as against England the protection of article 10. I submit to the conference with 
profound respect that Ireland's claim is clear and can not with any shadow of justice be 
refused. Should it be rejected, the consequences would be as follows: 

1. Ireland henceforth must rely for her deliverance wholly upon her own efforts. No 
such rule has been laid down with regard to any other of the smaller nationalities whose 
emancipation has been made the care of the conference. 

2. Nations which never have denied the right of Ireland to freedom will deprive them- 
selves for the future of the power of countenancing her claim, and will in consequence be 
bound for the first time in history to leave her unaided to her own resources as indicated 
in the preceding paragraph. 

[124] 



3. Article 10 will impose upon all nations, as a condition of membership of the League, 
the obligation to guarantee to Great Britain a title to the possession of Ireland and dominion | 
over the Irish people. \ 

Against the imposition of such slavery upon Ireland, and especially against the giving 1 
of such a guarantee of title to Great Britain, I enter on laehalf of the people of Ireland, in \ 
whose name I have the honor to speak, the most emphatic protest. 

Great Britain's title to Ireland rests solely upon "the mihtary power of a nation to 
determine the fortimes of a people over whom they have no right to rule except the right 
of force." 

The combined guarantee of such a title against the declared protest of Ireland would 
constitute a definite denial of "the principle of justice to all peoples and nationalities and 
their right to Uve on equal terms of liberty and safety with one another, whether strong or 
weak," and without the acceptance of that principle "no part of the structure of inter- 
national justice can stand." 

The guarantee of such a title would be subversive of "the reign of law based upon the 
consent of the governed and sustained by the organized opinion of mankind." 

The guarantee of such a title would constitute recognition of the right of a strong power 
to serve its own material interest and advantage through the exercise of its "exterior 
influence and mastery." 

The guarantee of such a title would give Great Britain a warrant to make a nation 
weaker than herself "subject to her purposes and interests." It would confirm the claim of 
Great Britain to rule and dominate the people Ireland "even in her own internal affairs 
by arbitrary and irresponsible force." 

Any guarantee, under article 10, of territorial integrity and political independence as 
affecting Ireland, can rightly enure only to the benefit of the people of Ireland themselves. 

In the name, therefore, of the people of Ireland, I ask that the Irish Nation may 
be invited to give their adhesion to the Covenant of the League of Nations, and that mem- 
bership of the League — a membership available under article 7, even to colonies who have 
freely and legislatively subscribed to the surpemacy of the English Imperial Parliament — 
shall not be denied to the government of a free, independent Irish Republic. 

I have the honor to be, sir, 
Your obedient servant, 

Sean T. O'Kelly, 
Delegate of the Government of the Irish Republic. 



[Exhibit J] 

The Government of the RepubHc of Ireland States Its Views 

on a World League of Nations and Expresses Its 

Readiness to Participate Therein 

Following is copy of extract from proceedings of Daii, Eireann, Second Public 
Session, 11th April, 1919: 

(League of Nations Debate.) 

The following Motion was put from the Chair and Carried : 

"That the elected Parliament and Government of the Irish Republic pledge the 
entire support of the Irish Nation in translating into deeds the principles enunciated 
by the President of the United States of America at Washington's Tomb, on July 4, 
1918, and wholeheartedly accepted by the people of America during the war. 

"We are eager and ready to enter a world League of Nations based on an equality 
of right in which the guarantees exchanged neither recognize nor imply a difference 
between big nations and small, between those that are powerful and those that are 
weak. We are willing to accept all the duties, responsibilities, £md burdens which 
inclusion in such a League implies." 



[125] 



[Exhibit K] 

Presidential Statement of Policy at Session 
of Dail Eireann 

[The following is the statement of policy made on April 10, 1919, at the 
Public Session of Dail Eireann, Dublin, Ireland, by President de Valera.] 

Priomh Aireach (East Clare and East Mayo.) 

"Our first duty as the elected Government of the Irish People wiU be to make clear to 
the world the position in which Ireland now stands. 

There is in Ireland at this moment only one lawful authority, and that authority is 
the elected Government of the Irish Republic. Of the other power claiming authority we 
can say, adapting the words of Cardinal Mercier: 

The authority of that power is no lawful authority. Therefore in soul and conscience 
the Irish people owe that authority neither respect, nor attachment, nor obedience. The sole 
authority in this country is the autliority of our oivn government, the authority of the elected 
representatives of the Irish Nation. This authority alone has the right to our affection 
and to our submission. * * * The acts of the ursurper have in themselves no authority, 
and such of those acts as affect the general interests and to which we may give ratification 
will have authority only in virtue of such ratification which alone gives them juridic value. 

Towards the persons of those who hold dominion among us by military force we shall 
conduct ourselves with all needful forbearance. We shall observe the rules they have laid 
upon us so long as those rules do not violate our personal liberty, nor our consciences, 
nor our duty to our country. 

Our attitude towards the powers that maintain themselves here against the expressed 
will of the people shall then, in a word, be this: We shall conduct ourselves towards them 
in such a way as will make it clear to the world that we acknowledge no right of theirs. 
Such use of their laws as we shall make will be dictated solely by necessity and only insofar 
as we deem them for the public good. 

In order to secure for our own de jure government, and for the Irish Republic which 
the Irish people have willed to set up, the necessary international recognition, we shall 
send at once our accredited representatives to Paris to the Peace Conference and to the 
League of Nations. We shall give them all necessary authority, and that they may proceed 
there in a manner befitting their character as the representatives of a nation, we shall apply 
for the necessary safe conduct to enable them to pass through the naval and military 
cordons with which the power in occupation of our country has surrounded us. 

We shall send also to other countries a number of duly accredited ambassadors and 
consuls to see that the position of Ireland is understood as it truly is, and not as English 
propaganda would represent it, and in general to see that the interests of Ireland in these 
countries are in no way neglected. We shall thus resume that intercourse with other peoples 
which befits us as a separate nation, that intercourse which it has been the chief aim of 
English statescraft to cut off and which indeed English power has succeeded in cutting off 
for over a century. 

At the present time of general world reconstruction it is most important that the 
material interests of this country at home be also looked after, and by Irishmen. It will 
be the duty of our Ministry to secure the cooperation and to coordinate the activities of 
the various bodies which have taken voluntarily on themselves the safeguarding and 
advancement of these interests. Towards English legislation interfering with these interests 
we shall act in accordance with the general principles I have already indicated, that is, 
we shall act as we think best for the general good. 

To measures such as the English Ways and Communications Bill, designed, as regards 
Ireland, to prevent Irishmen from using the natural resources of their own country to benefit 
their own nation, handing over on set purpose to an English bureau complete control of 
the communications of this country so that they may be used solely in the interests of 
England — to such measures we shaU offer all the resistance we can command as being both 
injurious and unjust. It will be the especial duty of our Director of Trade to examine, in 
cooperation with public bodies, how best to make our resistance effective. 

The Ministers and Directors at the heads of the other departments — Labor, Industries, 
Agriculture, Local Go>'ernment — will similarly be charged with seeking cooperation with 
all interested in their departments. The Minister for National Defence is, of course, in 
close association with the voluntary military forces which are the foundation of the National 
Army. 

[126] 



It is obvious that the work of our Government cannot be carried on without funds. 
The Minister of Finance is accordingly preparing a prospectus, which will shortly be pub- 
lished, for the issue of a loan of one million sterling — £500,000 to be offered to the public for 
immediate subscription, £250,000 at home and £250,000 abroad, in bonds of such amounts 
as to meet the needs of the small subscriber. 

I think that what I have said is a fair outline of our programme as it stands at present. 
An outline is ail we are prepared to give, and so I have not attempted to go into details. 
The working out of the details will be the immediate concern of individual Ministers and of 
the Cabinet as a whole. When they are ready we shall bring them formally before you for 
your approval and sanction. 

In asking the Dail to approve of our programme as I have stated it, I feel that I need 
not remind you how short the term is that the present Ministry has been in office nor how 
our best energies are being absorbed with the international situation of the moment. 



[Exhibit L] 

Ireland Repudiates Britain's Claim to Speak or Act 
in Behalf of the Irish Nation 

Mansion House, 
Dublin, Ireland, 
May i7, 1919. 
To Monsieur Clemenceau, 
President of the Peace Conference, Paris. 
Sir: 

The treaties now under discussion by the Conference of Paris will, presumably, be 
signed by the British plenipotentiaries claiming to act on behalf of Ireland as well as of 
Great Britain. 

Therefore we must ask you to call the immediate attention of the Peace Conference to 
the warning which it is our duty to communicate, that the people of Ireland, through all 
its organic means of declaration, has repudiated and does now repudiate the claim of the 
British Government to speak or act on behalf of Ireland, and consequently that no treaty 
or agreement entered into by the representatives of the British Government in virtue of 
that claim is or can be binding on the people of Ireland. 

The Irish people will scrupulously observe any treaty obligation to which they are 
legitimately committed: but the British delegates cannot commit Ireland. The only signa- 
tures by which the Irish Nation will be bound are those of its own delegates, deliberately 
chosen. 

We request you to notify to the Peace Conference that we the undersigned have been 
appointed and authorized by the duly-elected national government of Ireland to act on 
behaff of Ireland in the proceedings of the Conference and to enter into agreements and 
sign treaties on behaff of Ireland. 

Accept, Sir, the assurance of our great esteem, 

(Signed) Eamon de Valera, 
Arthur Griffith, 
George Noble Count Plunkett. 



Delegates of the Irish RepubHc to the Peace Conference 

Intimate Their Readiness to Participate 

in Its Proceedings 

Mansion House, 
To The Chairman, Dublin, Ireland, 

Council of the League of Nations, Paris. May 26, i9i9. 

Sir: 

The Irish people share the view that a lasting peace can only be secured by a World 
League of Nations pledged, when a clash of interests occurs, to use methods of conciUation 
and arbitration instead of those of force. They are consequently desirous that their nation 
should be included as a constituent member of such a League. 

Therefore, we, the delegates of the Nation, chosen and duly authorized for the pur- 
pose by the Elected National Government of Ireland desire to intimate thorugh you that 
we are ready to take peu-t in any conversations and discussion which may be necessary in 
order that the foundations of the League may be properly laid, and we ask the Commission 
to provide us with an opportunity for doing so. 

Apart from the general grounds of right, the Irish Nation has a special and peculiar 
interest in the League at present proposed. 

In the form in which the Covenant is now drawn up it threatens to confirm Ireland in 
the slavery against which she has persistently struggled since the EngUsh first invaded 
her shores, and to pledge the rest of the civilized world, which has hitherto done us no 
wrong, to discountenance in future our just endeavors to free ourselves from the regime 
of implacable and brutal oppression imder which we have suffered so long. 

Ireland is a distinct and separate nation with individual inalienable rights which any 
League of Nations founded on justice is bound to recognize. 

Accept, sir, the assurance of our great esteem. 

(Signed) Eamon de Valera, 
Arthur Griffith, 
George Noble Count Plunkett. 
[Exhibit N] 

Ireland Submits to the Peace Conference Her Claim 

for Recognition as Independent 

Sovereign State 

Mansion House, 
Monsieur Georges Clemenceau, Dublin, Ireland, 

President of the Peace Conference, Paris. May 26, i919. 

Sir: 

On May 17th we forwarded to you a note requesting you to warn the Conference that 
the Irish people will not be boimd by the signatures of English or British Delegates to the 
Conference in as much as these delegates do not represent Ireland. 

We now further request that you will provide an opportunity for the consideration by 
the Conference of Ireland's claim to be recognized as an Independent Sovereign State. 

We send you herewith a general memorandum on the case and beg to direct your atten- 
tion in particular to the following: 

1. That the rule of Ireland by England has been and is now intolerable — that it is 
contrary to all conceptions of liberty and justice, and as such, on the ground of humanity 
alone should be ended by the Conference. 

2. That the declared object of the Conference is to establish a lasting peace which is 
admittedly impossible if the legitimate claims of self-determination of nations such as Ireland 
be denied. 

3. That incorporated with the Peace Treaty under consideration is a Covenant estab- 
Ushing a League of Nations intended amongst other things to confirm and perpetuate the 
political relationships and conditions estabhshed by the Treaty. It is clear that it is radi- 
cally unjust to seek to confirm and perpetuate what is essentially wrong, and that it is 
indefensible to refuse an examination of title when a confirmation of possession is intended 
such as that provided by the Draft Covenant of the League of Nations. 

Ireland definitely denies that England or Britain can show any just claim or title to 
hold or possess Ireland and demands an opportunity for her representatives to appear before 
the Conference to refute any such claim. 

We feel that these facts are sufficient basis to merit for our requests the consideration 
which we are sure you. Sir, will give them. 

Please accept, Mr. President, the assurance of our great esteem. 

(Signed) Eamon de Valera, 
Arthur Griffith, 
(Enclosure) George Noble Count Plunkett. 

[128] 



[Exhibit O] 

Ireland's Case for Independence 

[Copy of Memorandum Submitted to the Peace Conference] 

Ireland is a Nation, not merely for the reason which, in the case of other countries, 
has been taken as suiEcient, that she has claimed at all times, and still claims to be, a nation, 
but also because, even though no claim were put forward on her behalf, history shows her 
to be a distinct nation from remotely ancient times. 

For over a thousand years Ireland possessed, and fuUy exercised. Sovereign Independ- 
ence, and was recognized through Europe as a distinct Sovereign State. 

The usurpation of the foreigner has always been disputed and resisted by the mass of 
the Ii-ish people. 

At various times since the coming of the English the Irish nation has exercised its 
sovereign rights as opportunity offered. 

The hope of recovering its full and permanent sovereignty has always been alive in the 
breasts of the Irish people, and has been the inspiration and the mainspring of their political 
activities, abroad as well as at home. 

English statescraft has long and persistently striven in vain to force the Irish people 
to abandon this hope. The English policy of repression, spiritued and material, has ever 
been active from the first intrusion of English power until the present day. 

English policy has always aimed at keeping every new accretion of population from 
without separate from the rest of the nation, and a cause of distraction and weakness in 
its midst. 

Nevertheless, the Irish Nation has remained one, with a vigorous consciousness of its 
nationality, and has always succeeded sooner or later in assimilating to its unity every new 
element of the population. 

The Irish Nation has never been intolerant toweuds its minorities, and has never 
harbored the spirit of persecution. Such barbarities as punishment by torture, witch- 
burning, capital punishment for minor offenses, etc., so frequent in the judical system of 
other countries, found no recognition in Irish Law or custom. Twice in the seventeenth 
.century — in 1642-8 and in 1689 — when, after periods of terrible persecution and depriva- 
tion of lands and liberty, the Irish people recovered for a time a dominant political power, 
they worked out in laws and treaties a policy of full religious equaUty for all dwellers in the 
island. On each occasion this policy of tolerance was reversed by the English power, which, 
on recovering its mastery, subjected the Irish race to further large confiscations of property, 
restriction of liberty, and religious persecutions. More recently, notwithstanding the Eng- 
lish policy of maintaining as complete a severance as possible, when Irish Protestants 
became attracted to the support of the National cause, the Catholics of Irelemd accorded 
political leadership to a succession of Protestant leaders. 

The Irish have long been a thoroughly democratic people. Through their chosen 
leaders, from O'Connell to Parnell, they have proAnlded the world with a model of democratic 
organization in opposition to the domination of privileged classes. 

If Ireland, on the grounds of National right and proved ability to maintain just govern- 
ment, is entitled to recover her Sovereign Independence — and that is her demand — the 
recognition of her right is due from other nations for the following reasons : 

1. Because England's claim to withhold independence from Ireland is based on a 
principle which is a negation of national liberty and subversive of international peace and 
order. England resists Ireland's demand on the ground that the independence of Ireland 
would be, as alleged, incompatible with the security of England, or of Great Britain, or of 
the British Empire. Whether this contention is well or ill-founded, if it is adrnitted, then 
any State is justified in suppressing the independence of any nation whose liberty that 
State declares to be incompatible with its own security. An endless prospect of future wars 
is the natmal consequence. 

2. Because England's government of Ireland has been at aU times, and is conspicuously 
at the present time, an outrage on the conscience of mankind. 

Such a government, especially in its modern quasi-democratic form, is essentially 
vicious. Its character at the best is sufficiently described by a noted English writer, John 
Stuart Mill: 

"The Government of a people by itself has a meaning and a reality; but such a 
thing as government of one people by another does not and cannot exist. One people 
may keep another as a warren or preserve for its own use, a place to make money in, 
a human cattle farm, to be worked for the profit of its own inhabitants. But if the 
good of the governed is the proper business of a government, it is utterly impossible 
that another people should directly attend to it."* 



^'Representative Government (1861), ch. xviii. 

[129] 



Consequently, the people of England devolve the power which they hold over Ireland 
upon a succession of satraps, military and civil, who are quite irresponsible and independent 
of any popular control, English or Irish, and represent no interest of the Irish people. 
Recent events show that the essential vices of this government are as active now as in former 
times. 

.3. Because the English temper towards the cause of Irish national liberty produces 
atrocious and intolerable results in Ireland. Among the results are: a depopulation un- 
exampled in any other country, howsoever badly governed; v/holesale destruction of indus- 
tries and commerce; over-taxation on an enormous scale; diversion of rents, savings, and 
surf)lus incomes from Ireland to England; opposition to the utilization by the Irish people 
of the econoniic resources of their country, and to economic development and social improve- 
ment; exploitation of Ireland for the benefit of English capitalists; fomentation of religious 
animosities; repression of the national culture; maintenance of a monstrous system of police 
rule, by which, in the words of an English Minister, all Ireland is kept "under the micro- 
scope"; perversiori of justice, by making political service and political subservience almost 
the sole qualification for judicial positions, by an elaborate corruption of the jury system, 
by the organization of police espionage and perjury, and the encouragement of agents 
provocateurs, and recently and at present, by using for the purpose of pohtical oppression 
in Ireland the exceptional powers created for the purposes of the European war. Under 
these powers military government is established, some areas being treated as hostile terri- 
tory occupied in ordinary warfare; a war censorship is maintained over the press and over 
publications generally; printing offices are invaded and dismantled; the police and military 
are empowered to confiscate the property of vendcis of literature without any legal process; 
persons are imprisoned without trial and deport (d from Ireland; Irish regiments in the 
English army are removed from Ireland, and a Jjirge military force, larger than at any 
previous time, ^Tith full equipment for modern warfare, has been maintained in Ireland; 
civilians are daily arrested and tried by courtmartial, and sentenced to long terms of 
imprisonment. 

What are England's objections to Ireland's independence? 

Tlie one objection in winch English statesmen are sincere is that which has been already 
mentioned — that the domination of Ireland by England is necessary for the security of 
England. Ireland, according to the English Navy League, is "the Heligoland of the Atlan-. 
tic," a naval outpost, to be governed for the sole benefit of its foreign masters. This claim, 
if it is valid, justifies not only the suppression of national liberty, but also the weakening 
of Ireland by depopulation, repression of industry and commerce and culture, maintenance 
of internal discord, etc. It can also be held to justify the subjugation of any small nation 
by a neighboring great power. 

The proximity of Ireland to England furnishes another plea. But Ireland is not as 
near to England as Belgium, Holland, Denmark, etc.. are to G(>rmany, Norway to Sweden, 
Portugal to Spain. In fact, it is this very proximity that makes independence necessary 
for Ireland, as the only condition of security against the sacrifice of Irish rights to English 
interests. 

A further plea is that, England being a maritime power, her safety depending on her 
navy, and her prosperity depending on maritime commerce, the domination of Ireland is 
for her a practical necessity, a plea involving that Ireland's natural harbors, the best in 
Europe, must be kept empty of mercantile shipping, except for such shipping as carries on 
the restricted trade between Great Britain and Ireland. 

Ireland cannot admit that the interests of one country, be they what they may, can 
be allowed to annul the natural rights of another country. If England's plea be admitted, 
then there is an end to national rights, and all the world must prepare to submit to armed 
interests or to make war against them. 

We may expect, also, to find the plea insinuated, in some specious form, if not definitely 
and clearly made, that the English rule in Ireland has been and is favorable to the peace, 
progress, and civilization of Ireland. We answer that, on the contrary, English rule has 
never been for the benefit of Ireland, and has never been intended for the benefit of Ireland; 
that it has isolated Ireland from Europe, prevented her development, and done everything 
in its power to deprive her of a national civilization. So far as Ireland at present is lacking 
in internal peace, is behind other countries in education and material progress, is unable to 
contribute notably to the common civiUzation of mankind, these defects are the visible 
consequences of English intrusion and domination. 

The Irish people have never believed in the sincerity of the public declarations of Eng- 
lish statesmen in regard to their "war aims," except insofar as those declarations avowed 
England's part in the war to have been undertaken for England's particular and Imperial 
interests. They have never believed that England went to war for the sake of France or 
Belgium or Serbia, or for the protection or liberation of small nationalities, or to make right 
prevail against armed might. If English statesmen wish to be regarded as sincere, they can 

[130] 



firove it to the world by abandoning, not in words, but in act, the claim to subordinate 
reland's liberty to England's security. 

Ireland's complete liberation must follow upon the application of President Wilson's 
principles. It has not resulted from the verbal acceptance of those principles; and their 
rejection is implied in the refusal to recognize for Ireland the right of self-determination. 
Among the principles declared by the President, before and since America entered the 
war, accepted by the American people and adopted by the spokesmen of the chief Allied 
powers, we cite the following: 

"No peace can rest securely on political or economic restrictions, meant to benefit 
some nations and cripple or embarrass others. 

"Peace should rest upon the rights of peoples, not on the rights of governments — 
the rights of peoples, great and small, weak or powerful; their equal right to freedom 
and self-government, and to participation, upon fair terms, in the economic opportuni- 
ties of the world. 

"What we demand in this war is nothing peculiar to ourselves. It is that the 
world be made fit and safe to live in, and particularly that it be made safe for every 
peace-loving nation, which, like our own, wishes to live its own life, determine its own 
institutions, be assured of justice and fair dealing by other people of the world, as against 
force and selfish aggression. 

"An evident principle runs through the whole of the program I have outlined. 
It is the principle of justice to all peoples and nationalities, and their right to live on 
equal terms of liberty and safety with one another, whether they be strong or weak. 
Unless this principle be made its foundation, no part of the structure of international 
justice can stand." 

Speaking on behalf of the American people at New York, on the 27th of September, 
1918, President Wilson said: 

"We accepted the issues of the war as facts, not as any group of men either here 
or elsewhere had defined them, and we can accept no outcome which does not squarely 
meet and settle them. These issues are these: Shall the military power of any nation 
or group of nations be suifered to determine the fortunes of peoples over whom they 
have no right to rule, except the right of force? Shall strong nations be free to wrong 
weak nations, and make them subject to their purposes and interest? Shall peoples 
be ruled and dominated, even in their oa^ti internal affairs, by arbitrary and irresponsible 
force or by their own will and choice? Shall there be a common standard of right and 
privilege for all peoples and nations, or shall the strong do as they will, and the weak 
suffer without redress? Shall the assertion of right be haphazard and by casual 
alliance, or shall there be a common concert to oblige the observance of common 
rights? No men, no group of men, chose these to be the issues of the struggle. They 
are the issues of it, and they must be settled by no arrangement or compromise or 
adjustment of interests, but definitely and once for all, and with a full and unequivocal 
acceptance of the principle that the interest of the weakest is as safe as the interest 
of the strongest. * * * The impartial justice meted out must involve no dis- 
crimination between those to whom we wish to be just and those to whom we do not 
wish to be just. It must be justice that plays no favorites and knows no standards 
but the equal rights of the several peoples concerned." 

If England objects to the application of those principles to the settlement of the ancient 
queirrel between herself and Ireland, she thereby testifies: 

1. That her international policy is entirely based on her own selfish interest, not on 
the recognition of rights in others, notwithstanding any professions to the contrary. 

2. That in her future dealings with other nations she may be expected, when the op- 
portunity arises, to use her power in order to make her own interest prevail over their rights. 

3. That her particular object in keeping possession of Ireland is to seciu-e naval and 
mercantile domination over the seas, and in particular over the North Atlantic and the 
nations which have legitimate maritime interests therein; ruling Ireland at the same time 
on a plan of thoroughgoing exploitation for her own sole profit, to the great material detri- 
ment of Ireland, and preventing the establishment of beneficial intercourse, through com- 
merce and otherwise, between Ireland and other countries. 

It is evident that, while Ireland is denied the right to choose freely and establish that 
form of government which the Irish people desires, no international order can be founded 
on the basis of national right and international justice; the claim of the stronger to dominate 
the weaker will once more be successfully asserted; and there will be no true peace. 

It must be recognized that Ireland has already clearly demonstrated her will. At 
the recent general election, out of 105 constituencies, 73 returned Republican candidates, 

[131] 



and 6 returned representatives who, though not Republicans, will not oppose the free exer- 
cise of self-determination by the Irish people. Nor is there the slightest likelihood that this 
right will at any time be relinquished. 

The Irish people are thoroughly capable of taking immediate charge of their national 
and international affairs, not less capable than any of the new states which have been recog- 
nized since the beginning of the war, or which are about to be recognized; and by a procedure 
not less valid than has been held good for other restored or newly-estabhshed States, they 
have already formally constituted a National Government. 

The effect on the world of the restoration of Ireland to the society of free nations 
cannot fail to be beneficial. On the part of the nations in general, this fact will be a guar- 
antee of the new international order, and a reassurance to all the smaller nations. On the 
part of England, if justice to Ireland be not "denied or sold or delayed," the fact will be an 
earnest to other peoples, especially to those whose commerce is borne upon the Atlantic 
Ocean, that England's naval power is not hostile to the rights and legitimate interests 
of other countries. 

Ireland's voice in the councils of the nations will be wholly in favor of peace and justice. 
Ireland covets no possessions and makes no territorial claims outside her own well-defined 
geographical bounds. Her liberty cannot infringe on that of any other people. She will 
not make any war of aggression or favor any. The prosperity to which, in remembrance 
of her unexampled progress during a brief period of legislative, but not executive independ- 
ence (1782-1798), she looks forward confidently, will contribute to the prosperity of all 
countries in commercial relation with her. 

The longest agony suffered by any people in history will be ended, the oldest standing 
enmity between two peoples will be removed. England will be relieved of the disgrace she 
bears in the eyes of all peoples, a disgrace not less evident to the remote Armenian than to 
her nearest continental neighbors. 

In proportion as England gives earnest of disinterestedness and good-will, in like pro- 
portion shall Ireland show her readiness to join in with England in allowing the past to 
pass into liistory. The international ambition of Ireland will he to recreate in some new 
way that peiiod of her ancient independence of which she is proudest, when she gave freely 
of her greatest treasures to every nation within her reach, and entertained no thought of 
recompense or of selfish advantage. 



13! 



The Irish Congress Thanks the Senate of the U. S. 



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e*»^v> -vuL .ci^C ^^.'6e«cv!i-aA<w6 TUcus*i5a) eiLc/, aa^ ■gvi.)^ fe'e^A ■'"•vkv^ 

[133] 



[Exhibit Q] 

The Irish Congress Thanks the U. S. Senate 

[Translation from Gaelic text] 

J O tne I^RESIDENT OF THE SENATE OF THE UnITED StATES: 

Washington, D. C. 
Sir: 

We have the honor to inform you that the subjoined resolution was unanimously 
adopted by the Dail Eireann in session assembled in the Mansion House, Dublin, on 17th 
June, 1919. Accept, sir, the assurance of our high esteem. 

Arthur Griffith, Acting President 
Sean O'Ceallaigh, Speaker. 

"The duly elected representatives of Ireland assembled in legislative session in DubUn, 
this 17th day of June, 1919, before taking up the business of the day, desire to record their 
appreciation of the action of the Congress of the United States in behalf of Ireland, and in 
particular, of the following resolutions adopted by the Senate of the United States: 

""That the Senate of the United States earnestly requests the American Peace 
Commission at Versailles to endeavor to secure for Eamon de Valera, Arthur Griffith 
and George Noble Coimt Plunkett, a hearuig before the Peace Conference in order 
that they may present the case of Ireland, 

'"And, further, the Senate of the United States expresses its sympathy with the 
aspirations of the Irish people for a government of their own choice.' 
"It is therefore resolved. 

"That the elected Government of Ireland be and is hereby directed lo convey the 
thanks of the Irish Nation to the Congress of the United States, to declare that the people 
of Ireland cherish no designs upon the rights or territories of other nations, but ardently 
seek to live in cordial peace with, and as one of, the Free Nations of the world; and to assure 
the people of America that the ties of blood and friendship which subsisted between both 
nations in the days of their subjection to one common oppressor have endured and are in- 
dissoluble." 



[Exhibit R] 

The President of the Irish Repubhc Repudiates the Claim 

of the British Ambassador to Represent 

Ireland in the U. S. A. 

The Honorable, May 5, 1920. 

The Secretary of State, 
Washington, D. C. 
Sir: 

I am instructed by the President of the Elected Government of the Republic of Ireland 
to write you to confirm the telegram sent by him to the Honorable Woodrow Wilson, 
President of the United States, from Augusta, Georgia, on the night of April 28, 1920, which 
read as follows : 

"His Excellency, 

The President of the United States, 
Washington, D. C. 

"The announcement in this morning's press that Sir Auckland Gcddesistobegiven 
an audience by Your Excellency makes it an urgent duty for me to enter a formal 
protest on behalf of the Irish people against recognition of the British Ambassador as 
a representative of Ireland or an organ of its Government. 

"As Your Excellency knows, the Irish Nation, through its representatives elected 
for the purpose, has declared its absolute independence of Britain, has established 
itself as a Republic and has chosen its own Government. The appointee of this Govern- 
ment, the Honorable Doctor Patrick McCartan, member of the Irish Congress, is the 
only Ambassador accredited by Ireland to the United States. 

[134] 



"A foreign government's arbitrary naming of bim does not give Sir Auckland 
Geddes the rigbt to represent tbe Irisb people. 

"If tbe world is at all to be made safe for democracy, if tbe doctrine tbat might 
makes right is not to be affirmed by the United States at the moment when that doc- 
trine ought especially to be repudiated, it is essential that the British Ambassador be 
expressly denied recognition by you as Ambassador from Ireland. To recognize him 
js to do an act of positive injustice to the Irish people. It is to give the moral sanction 
of this great American Nation to Britain's manifest usurpation and cruel tyranny in 
Ireland. 

"The Irish people recognize no such political entity as the United Kingdom of 
Great Britain and Ireland, and if there is to be peace intergovernmental practice 
must conform to the will of the people affected and international law must be made 
square with the natural human conceptions of right and justice. 

"During the war Your Excellency was the inspired interpreter of the hearts of the 
plain people of the world. Upon you of all men it is not necessary to urge the bearing 
of the decision we seek upon the ideals of the plain people. 

"In the Peace Conference these ideals were thrust aside. There Your Excellency 
had to struggle against the powerful interests of European states and the selfish am- 
bitions of European statesmen. Here you are in your own proper domain. Here it 
is a question of America alone. Here your own will is final. Action in consonance with 
the war aims of the United States as proclaimed by you will bring back hope to a world 
almost in despair. 

"I feel that Your Excellency will realize that the question to be decided is none 
other than your own: — 

" 'Shall the military power of any nation or group of nations be suffered to deter- 
mine the fortunes of peoples over whom they have no right to rule except the right of 
force?' 

" 'Shall strong nations be free to wrong weak nations and make them subject to 
their purpose and interest?' 

"'Shall peoples be ruled and dominated even in their own internal affairs by 
arbitrary and irresponsible force or by their own will and choice? 

"'Shall there be a common standard of right and privileges for all peoples and 
nations or shall the strong do as they will and the weak suffer without redress?' 

(Signed) Eamon de Valera, 
President of the Elected Government of the Republic of Ireland. 

The President of the Republic of Ireland furthermore avails of this occasion to request 
that you convey to President Wilson the profound assurance of his esteem. 
I am, Sir, for the President of Ireland, 
Respectfully yours, 

(Signed) H. Boland, Secretary. 



[Exhibit SJ 

British Atrocities in Ireland 

Protest Lodged with the State Department, Washington, D. C, by the Envoy of 
The Republic of Ireland 

Washington, D. C, 
His Excellency, October i4, 1920. 

The Secretary of State, 
Washington, D. C. 

Your Excellency: 

I am. instructed by my Government to protest formally and emphatically against acts 
now being committed by the British armed forces in the territory of the Republic of Ireland. 
These 'acts which have been described in the public press of the world, and which are uni- 
versally notorious, include the murder of unarmed civilians, the sacking of towns, and the 
destruction of creameries. 

From January 1, 1919, to October 12, 1920, seventy-seven unarmed civiliaris, including 
women and children, have been brutally murdered by British soldiers. This of course 
does not include Irishmen who lost their lives in armed conflict with the British forces, or 



[135] 



those citizens who met death in Derry and Belfast during the British official pogroms. 
During the same period one hundred and two towns have been sacked and burned; thirty 
creameries razed to the ground; one thousamd six hundred and four armed assaults com- 
mitted on unarmed civilians; thirty-eight thousand seven hundred and twenty homes have 
been broken into and looted, and four thousand, nine hundred and eight-two citizens have 
been seized and imprisoned. The last few weeks have witnessed a marked increase both 
in the frequency with which these outrages have been perpetuated and in the horror of their 
attendant circumstances. 

On no theory, either of war or peace, can these acts be defended. Granting, as Premier 
Lloyd George intimated on October Ninth, that a state of war exists, these acts are in 
violation of Articles 25, 47, and 50 of the Hague Convention. War between civilized 
nations demands discipUne in the forces of the belligerents and rules out wanton and un- 
necessary violence against the civil population. The destruction of Irish towns, such as 
Balbriggan and Mallow, is of no more military advantage to the British now than the burn- 
ing of "every village and hamlet on the New York side of the Niagara" was in 1813. The 
destruction of Cork City Hall on October Ninth furthers the conquest of Ireland no more 
than the burning of the Capitol in Washington on August 24, 1814, was calculated to further 
the reconquest of America. 

The British Government, immediately after being advised of the conflagration (at 
Washington) publicly thanked the officers concerned in it. The British Government of 
today has not indeed publicly thanked the officers responsible for the atrocities in Ireland, 
but Premier Lloyd George, on October Ninth, publicly condoned these acts. 

The British Prime Minister is reported to have said that "if as was contended, there 
was war in Ireland, then the war must be waged on both sides." We submit that the drag- 
ging from their beds and murder of unarmed civilians, as occurred in Balbriggan and else- 
where, the committment of captives such as Lord Mayor MacSwiney to convict prisons, 
and the destruction of creameries, is not sanctioned by the laws of war, and hence cannot 
be defended even on Mr. Lloyd George's own conditions relative to a state of war. He 
would deny to the civil population of Ireland the protection that is denied by barbarous 
armies only. He not only condones, but actually instigates the very acts which, for example, 
the United States specifically instructs its armies in the field to avoid. 

Atrocities in any part of the world concern all humanity as individuals, and especially 
all States which are not barbarous. No civilized nation, representing in its government the 
sum of the humanitarian aspirations of its nationals, can afford to ignore such horrors as 
are now being committed with governmental sanction by the British soldiery in Ireland. 

No humainitarian appeal of this kind has ever been made in vain to the United States. 
Indeed appeal has ever been unnecessary. The mere existence of an atrocious state of 
affairs in any part of the world has ever stirred the heart of the American people and of the 
Government which represents them. 

My Government confidently looks to the Government of the United States to enter a 
protest with Great Britain now as it did with other states under similar circumstances in 
the past, such as the successful protest against the arrest and deportation of the Burgo- 
master of Brussels. 

The United States heretofore used its influence in Roumania, in Russia, in Poland, 
in Turkey, in Greece, and elsewhere to save innocent people from barbarous maltreatment 
by oppressors. In Belgium and Cuba, armed intervention was not deemed too great a 
price to prevent inhuman treatment of innocent people. When, therefore, as Premier 
Lloyd George admits, and as recent events in Ireland make manifest, an organized system 
of atrocities is inaugurated by the armed forces of an alien government, it is fitting that the 
United States should not fail to adhere to its traditional policy by protesting officially against 
these acts of barbarism which shock the civilized world. 

I have the honor to be. 
Respectfully yours, 

(Signed) Patrick McCartan, 

Envoy of the Republic of Ireland. 



[1361 



